All Magic Comes With A Price
by ouatevilregal8
Summary: Sequel to "Love is Weakness" What was it like for Regina and Hook's daughter Claire to live outside of Storybrooke? Her parents never told her why she wasn't allowed to go there. But the more they said no, the more she was curious to find out. (Rated M for some sex scenes.) Hookedqueen Regina/Hook
1. Bed Time

Author's Note: Hey all! So I received a few requests from my last story "Love is Weakness" to make a sequel. So here it is. "All Magic Comes With A Price." Please enjoy and review.

* * *

"No!" The three-year-old girl screamed running out of the bathroom bare butt and all. This seemed like a nightly routine for Regina: eat dinner, give Claire a bath, chase Claire around the house to put her pajamas on, finally get Claire's pajamas on, brush teeth, get Claire in bed, tell her a story and hope that she falls asleep. If the little rascal didn't fall asleep… Regina just hoped that it wouldn't happen.

Regina ran out of the bathroom after the rambunctious toddler, hoping that this might tucker her out so that she'd fall asleep faster. Granted, Regina wasn't so sure that running around the house chasing a naked and soaking wet little girl was her ideal night. Regina was lucky tonight because Killian could hear the usual ruckus and braced himself to catch the mischievous little girl.

As she tried to run right passed him in the kitchen as he cleared the table, he swooped her up in his arms playfully. "Not so fast, Miss Claire!" He said cheerfully as he swung her over the shoulder and gave her little bum a pat.

He listened as she laughed playfully and squirmed a bit to escape. She yelled, "No! No pjs! No bed!"

Regina laughed and leaned against the doorway of the kitchen to watch the sight. He walked up to Regina with Claire still draped over his shoulder; she had given up the struggle as her energy began to wane from the attempted escape.

Killian gave a little smirk to Regina, "We need to set booby-traps around this house for this one." He said as he patted the three-year-old's bottom again. Regina laughed as Killian put Claire down but still held on to her. She smiled, thinking that she could start all over again. She prepared to run for it, but Killian held her saying, "No, that's enough, love. Now it's time to cooperate with your mum." Claire looked up with sad eyes, but listened to her father.

Regina began to dress the little one as she said to Killian, "I don't know why putting on pajamas is always such a struggle with her. Henry was never this troublesome." She gave a look to Claire who began to blush and put on an innocent smile.

Killian looked to Regina, Well you've got to remember, love, that this one here has our blood. She stubborn, like her mum."

Regina winced at him then remarked, "And likes to cause trouble, like her father."

Killian laughed, "That's my girl." Regina pulled Claire's nightgown over her head. Killian then picked her up as the family headed to her bedroom.

The little girl's room hadn't changed much in the passed few years. The same wallpaper was there, many of the pictures still hung on the walls and the curtains were the same. Claire had a little bed where her crib used to sit. But, Regina couldn't manage to get rid of the little crystal dolphin mobile that hung over Claire's crib when it was her nursery. The mobile now hung over Claire's miniature desk where she would draw and play; she still loved it. Toys were scattered around the floor; it seemed like the floor was more full of toys than her toy box. As Killian placed Claire in her bed, Regina picked up some toys and put them away to prevent any tripping. Once in her bed, Claire quickly grabbed her favorite stuffed animal; it was a little dog that had her dolphin and ship-patterned baby blanket tied around it like a cape.

Killian stood up after pulling the covers over Claire. Regina walked over and sat at the little girl's bedside. She tucked her in tightly and kissed her forehead.

"Mommy?" Claire asked sweetly. "Can we read a story?"

Regina shook her head sadly, "Sorry sweetie. It's passed bedtime. Tomorrow." Regina stood up to let Killian kiss her goodnight. Claire smiled as he kissed her. She looked up to her father with a look of confusion, "Daddy?" Claire reached over and touched the man's prosthetic hand, which had once been a hook. "What happened to your hand?"

Killian looked surprised to hear this from his three-year-old, but she was a rather curious one. He looked over to Regina, who stood in the doorway. They had both expected that she'd ask eventually. He replied, "Well, I lost it."

"Where'd it go? Can you find it again?" She asked naively.

Killian laughed, "Afraid not, love. I lost it in a fight."

Claire perked up, "A pirate fight?" Her eyes were wide with excitement. She loved hearing stories about when he father was a pirate on the seas. Little did she know that they were the seas of their own fairytale land as week as Neverland. Regina and Killian agreed not to tell Claire about their rather wicked pasts until she was old enough to understand. It was possible that they wouldn't tell her at all about that and magic for her own safety.

Killian nodded to her. "What happened?" She asked excitedly.

Before he could continue, Regina interrupted, "I thought we said no stories, Miss Claire." Killian gave a snide look at his daughter who had almost tricked him into letting her stay up longer. He smirked at her mischievous expression; she knew that she was doing it too. Killian kissed her again and walked back to Regina. She whispered, "You always fall for that with her." She laughed at him. Regina looked to her daughter as she turned on her little dolphin nightlight and shut the lights off. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Night, Mommy. Night, Daddy." Claire whispered before closing her eyes.

0-0-0

Killian and Regina returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning up from dinner. As Regina washed, Killian dried and put the dishes away. He had a strange expression on his face; something was bothering him, but Regina wasn't sure what.

"Everything alright, dear?" She asked as she handed him a cleaned plate.

"Hmm? Oh, yes." Killian had snapped out of his thoughts.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring. What is it? Are you upset that Claire asked about your hand?" Regina stopped washing the dishes and dried her hands, "Sweetie, we knew that was going to happen eventually."

Killian put the last dish away, "Yes, I know."

"Then what is it?" Regina was a little tired of him beating around the bush. "She seemed fine with it."

"Yes, for now. It's not so easy explaining how you lost your hand in a fight with Rumplestiltskin and then became the infamous Captain Hook to your three-year-old daughter."

"Like I said. We knew that it was coming." Regina put the towel down and stared at him.

"Well, it doesn't make it easier, love." He said as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist while standing behind her. He rested his cheek next to her head and closed his eyes.

She drew her fingers along the prosthetic hand as she asked, "Then what would?"

He replied, "If I had a real hand, love."

Regina's calm expression became confused as she turned to face him, "That's impossible." She placed her hands to his chest and played around with his shirt button until in popped open.

"Well, not entirely impossible, love." He smiled.

"Killian, magic isn't an option. We came here to start a new life _without_ magic. For Claire's safety." She looked up into his disappointed eyes.

"Regina, we need to think of _all_ options."

"Yes, and magic is not one of them. Why are you so bent on this anyhow? The hand never bothered you before."

"I just don't want to have to explain it over and over again."

Regina looked at him confused, "What are you talking about over and over again? You only need to tell her once. She won't forget it."

Killian continued to hold Regina, "I know. But what if we were to have more children? I'd have to explain to them too."

Regina suddenly pushed back from him, "Whoa. When did we ever agree to that?"

"I meant _if_." Killian said. Regina began to walk down the hallway to check on Claire. Killian followed.

Regina whispered, "We never discussed this."

Killian whispered back, "Then maybe we should."

Regina peeked into Claire room to find that she was sound asleep, cuddling her sweet stuffed animal. She closed the door and looked at Killian, "Do you really think _now_ is the best time for that?"

He continued to follow her to their bedroom, "Now is a better time than any."

Regina walked into their bedroom, "There isn't really much to discuss." She turned to face him as he shut the door.

"I think there is. I'd like to have more children."

Regina went to the dresser and pulled out her own pajamas, "Killian, we have Claire and I have Henry as well."

"And? Don't you think Claire would like to have a brother or sister?" Killian asked while unbuttoning his shirt to change into his own pajamas.

Regina removed her shirt, "I don't think our three-year-old daughter has a say in this matter. And she has Henry."

Killian removed his shirt and went to the dresser to get a pair of pajama pants. "Henry is only here every once and a while. Plus, his is a teenage boy; soon, he will never really be around. He'll have his own things. And it's not like we can bring Claire into town to see him, Regina."

Regina pulled her shirt over her head and began to think about it. "And after tonight's fiasco you really want another baby running around this house?"

"You know you loved it, Regina. Don't lie. And yes, I do. More than anything." He walked up to her and kissed her lips tenderly.

She hesitated a bit because she had wanted to discuss the matter more, but she couldn't resist the soft touch of his lips. She kissed him back as his hand brushed through her hair.

She pulled back for an instant and stared at him nervously. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

He kissed her again passionately and then whispered, "Love, the chance to make a beautiful baby with you? What is there to be sure about?" Regina gasped as he suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bed. He didn't hesitate a moment to place his lips to her once more. It wasn't long before the clothes they had just changed into were on the floor while the couple was beneath the sheets.

Regina sighed and moaned as Killian's hardness pressed against her thigh. It had been some time since they had been intimate again; Claire was a bit of a handful and had always made them too tired. Grasping his back as he kissed her neck and her shoulder blade, Regina could feel the tension in her abdomen rising. She arched her back has Killian suckled her breasted sweetly and gently to arouse her. He returned a kiss to her lips and stared into her soft brown eyes. He listened to her sigh as her entered her slowly. She closed her eyes and gripped his back tighter as he began to gently thrust in and out.

He moaned softly as he felt her tense up around him, becoming tighter. Their lips locked as he thrust deeper. Regina gave a slight whimper into his mouth as he did. Killian's lips parted as their tongues met. He could still taste the remnants of red wine on her lips and tongue from the single glass that she had at dinner. Regina arched her back and dug her head into the pillow as she felt herself blissfully beginning to climax. Killian continued to thrust rhythmically as he kissed her chest in between her bosom.

"_Yes._" She moaned as she closed her eyes and felt pleasure emanating from her head to her toes. She felt a deep thrust within her and listened as Killian moaned with a final grunt as he spilled his seed within her.

He rolled off of her, sweat dripping down his forehead. Regina rolled into his arms and smiled before placing a kiss to his lips again. With her hand on his chest, she could feel his heart beating wildly. She placed her head to his chest and closed her eyes contently. He looked down at her sweetly and stroked her hair with his hand. She was so beautiful. He could only hope that they were lucky enough to make another child in that moment of passion. They would find out soon enough if it was so.


	2. Double Trouble

"But I want to stay with Mommy and my baby sister!" Claire exclaimed with her arms around Regina's bulging belly. Regina was about eight months along in her second pregnancy.

Regina placed a hand on the now four-year-old's little head, "Sweetie, we don't know if it's a little sister. It may be a brother."

As Regina stroked Claire's dark curls, Killian put his hand to Regina's stomach and smiled, "Maybe even two!"

Regina's eyes widened. She looked at Killian and exclaimed, "Don't you say that! I don't think I could handle more than one at a time."

Killian kissed Regina's head and whispered, "You never know." Killian looked down at their daughter who was still holding onto her mother. He knelt down to meet her at eye level and asked her, "Why do you not want to go, love?"

Regina continued to stroke her hair, "There's nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart. Your father just wants to take you sailing."

"But, Mommy, why can't you and my baby sister come too?"

Regina laughed and mumbled, "Because I'll sink the boat…" Claire stared in confusion at Regina's joke; she was still too young to understand that kind of humor. Regina replied, "Because it's not very safe for the baby and me to be on the ship, sweetheart."

"Then I don't wanna go." Claire whined.

Regina looked over to Killian's rather disappointed expression. She gave her daughter a stern look, "Claire, your father wants to teach you how to sail. He'll teach you how steer the ship and tie the knots. Don't you think you are hurting his feelings by saying that you don't want to go with him?"

Claire gazed over to her father who made an over-exaggerate puppy-dog pout. Claire cupped her little hands on his cheeks and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy." She leaned in and pecked her father sweetly on the lips. "Can we still go sailing?"

Killian smiled and gazed into her dark brown eyes, "Of course, love." He scooped his little girl up in his arms with delight. Before heading onto his ship, he kissed Regina tenderly, caressing her cheek. Claire made him lean in a second time so that she too could give her mother a kiss before they boarded the ship.

**-Three Weeks Later-**

Claire's eyes were wide with fear as she heard her mother screaming in pain from labor. Her father carried her into the living room and quickly handed her over to her big brother Henry who had been over for the weekend. Killian asked Henry frantically, "Could you take her down to the beach for a bit? I really do not want her to hear all of this." Henry, now fifteen-years-old, nodded. He smiled reassuringly at his little sister in his arms. Claire glanced down the hallway as Henry carried her out; two midwives and her father scrambled into the bedroom where she had heard the yelling.

"Henry?" Claire asked as he set her down and took her hand, "What's happening? Is Mommy okay?"

Henry smiled at his naïve little sister, "Yeah. Mom is having the baby."

"Oh. Does it hurt a lot? Cause she was yelling a lot."

"How would I know?" Henry replied as they made it to the beach. He let go of Claire's hand and urged her to go play in the sand; he had a feeling that they'd be there for a while.

0-0-0

Regina tightened her grip on Killian's hand has she felt the painful contraction. She exhaled deeply and moaned as it went away, but contractions weren't far apart now. She closed her eyes and breathed as one of the midwives wiped the sweat from her brow. The second was preparing to check Regina's dilation. Killian held the cup of ice chips to her mouth and said, "Just breath, Regina. You're doing great."

Suddenly, in a fit of hormones and under the rather painful circumstances, Regina grabbed his shirt collar and snapped, "Don't you _dare_ tell me what to do you bastard! You did this to me!" She shoved him back, his eyes wide with fear. Her mood changed drastically as another contraction came painfully. She moaned and shook her hand at him, beckoning for him to hold it, "Killian, please." She cried. He rushed back to her side and held her hand tightly. She gripped it through the contraction.

The midwife looked up and nodded to Killian. Killian whispered into Regina's ear, "Alright, love, she says its time to push."

Regina, with a cringed face, yells, "You think I don't know that! I swear, if I could, I'd slap you right now!" Killian just gave an awkward smile to the midwife and kept quiet.

When the midwife signaled, Regina began to push. Killian listened through her pain as she clutched his hand harder. He was lucky it wasn't the prosthetic hand; she would have crushed it. The midwife announced that the head was out; Regina only needed one final push. Regina breathed heavily before scrunching her face and pushing.

Killian whispered, "Push, Regina. You can do this."

In the middle of her pushing she hollered at him, "Shut up!" The holler turned into a combination of moans and yells. Regina finally felt a relief as she leaned back against the pillow and sighed. Killian looked up at their newborn and heard a high pitch wail from the baby. He smiled, kissed Regina's forehead and whispered, "It's a boy. We have a son."

Regina opened her eyes and looked over as the midwife swaddled the infant in a little blanket. The second midwife returned to Regina and said, "You'll most likely have about five minutes before the contractions start up again. Normally the second one comes much faster though."

Regina looked at the midwife in shock, "Wait what? What the hell are you talking about?"

The midwife looked confused, "The second baby."

The couple's eyes widen. Regina asks nervously as she feels the contractions return suddenly, "What second baby? There is no second baby! I am not going through this again!"

"I'm afraid you are Miss Mills. Whether you like it or not, there is a second baby and it will be arriving very soon."

Regina turned to glare at Killian with furious eyes for making her go through this. Her hair was damp with sweat as she began to feel the close contractions again. It wasn't long after until their newborn son welcomed a twin brother.

Regina began to cry as the midwife placed both infants into her arms. With a smile on her face, she looked up at Killian. Their lips met joyfully as he placed his hand to her cheek.

Killian whispered to her, "Looks like we have a full house now."

Regina laughed, "That's for sure." She glanced back down as both boys slept in her arms.

0-0-0

Henry carried young Claire into the bedroom where their mother sat in the bed holding one of the twins in her arms as Killian stood up by the window with the other baby in his arms. Henry brought Claire over to sit beside their mother. Regina kissed Claire on the head. When Henry walked to the other side of the bed, she kissed him as well. Claire, beaming with excitement looked down at the baby in Regina's arms.

Regina smiled down at the baby and said, "This is your little brother, Connor."

"Brother?" Claire asked a bit disappointed that he wasn't a sister. Claire stared down as he made a gurgling sound. She smiled at him, "He's cute."

Killian walked over with the second baby in his arms. Claire looked up confused. Killian smile at her and Henry, whose mouths were open in shock, "And this is your second brother, Nathan."

Henry looked to Regina, "Since when were there two?"

Regina laughed, "We were as surprised as you are, sweetie." Henry laughed.

Claire just stared strangely at her new brothers. She couldn't understand why they were so small and made the noises that they did. Claire rested her head on Regina's shoulder as she watched the baby in her arms wiggle about. She looked over as Killian handed Nathan to Henry. Regina watched and then looked down at Claire, "Sweetheart, would you like to hold him?"

Claire looks up at Regina with a curious expression, "Will I break him?"

Regina laughed, "No you won't break him." Regina scooted over in the bed, allowing Claire to sit back against the upright pillows. With one hand, Regina took a pillow and placed it next the Claire. "Rest your arm right there." Regina then carefully placed the baby into Claire's arms so that his head and her arm would rest comfortably on the pillow. Claire stared down at her sleeping brother and then smiled. Unfortunately the moment didn't last when Claire became bored. Regina took the baby back in her arms and cradled him gently.

Killian smiled at his daughter, "Well, Miss Claire, are you prepared to be a good big sister and help us with your brothers?"

Claire shot a nervous look to her father, "Do I have to change stinky diapers?"

Killian laughed, "No, love. No stinky diapers."

"Then okay!" She smirked cheerfully.

0-0-0

As Regina placed one of the boys into his crib, Killian whispered, "We got very luck with these two."

Regina smirked, "Tell me about it. I was afraid that we'd have double the trouble that we had with Claire. I don't even want to think about that." She walked over to Killian who wrapped his arms around her waist happily and kissed her lips. She smiled as he whispered, "Now, let's get some sleep while we still have the chance."

Before they could even walk into the hallway to leave the room, they heard a yell from Claire, "Mommy!" Regina and Killian sighed in unison as they heard the boys begin to wake.

Killian looked to Regina, "You get her, I'll get them." He kissed her head.

As she walked out of the nursery and mumbled, "It's going to be a _long_ night."


	3. Sailing

**-Five Years Later-**

"Mom!" Claire whined as she walked into the kitchen. Regina looked over to her confused. Claire continued to whine, "Make them stop!"

"Stop what, Claire?" Regina put her hands on her hips and sternly looked at her daughter.

"They're being annoying!" She whined louder.

"Claire, whining about it isn't going to help anyone. Boys!" The two rather hyped up boys scurried out of their bedroom and stared blankly at their mother. She gave them a look, "What are you doing to your sister?"

Claire didn't give them time to answer, "Mom, they keep _annoyingly_ telling me that they are coming with me and Dad when we go sailing."

Regina went back to preparing lunch, "That's because they are, dear."

"No! Mom, that's not fair!" Claire exclaimed.

"And why not?"

"Because _I_ sail with Dad! It's _our_ thing, Mom." Claire glared back at her two brothers who appeared to have innocent looks on their faces.

Nathan exclaimed, "But Daddy sad we could!" Connor nodded in agreement.

"Then talk to your father about it."

"Where is he?" Claire said angrily.

Regina rolled her eyes at her daughter's attitude, but let it slide this time. Her brothers always seemed to double up on her to get her in trouble; Regina had seen that happen all too often. She replied, "The docks, sweetheart. Let him know that lunch is almost ready."

"Fine." Claire stomped away stubbornly.

As the boys went to follow their sister and continue tormenting her, Regina stopped them, "Oh no you don't! You two get your little butts over here and help me set the table."

0-0-0

"There's my girl!" Killian exclaimed opening his arms for a hug. Claire did not hug him though; she was too angry.

"Dad, Nathan and Connor said that you said they could come sailing with us."

Killian had not comprehended a word of what she had just spoken; she had spoken much too fast. He dropped his arms and asked, "What?"

"I don't want the boys to come sailing with us. Please, Dad. It's _our _thing."

Killian stared at the girl a bit disappointed in her attitude, "Love, I know that. But don't you want your brothers to learn how to sail like you did? It seems a little unfair to them."

Claire looked to the ground with a regretful expression as she realized that she was being a bit selfish. She walked up to Killian and gave him the hug that he had been expecting minutes before, "You're right, Dad. Why don't you take them sailing by themselves and teach them like you did with me? Then you and I can go sailing some other time."

Killian looked down at his daughter confused, "So you don't want to go sailing at all now?"

"Just not today. It's okay, Dad. They'll have more fun and I can stay and spend some time with Mom." Claire let go of her father and began to walk back to the house. She turned around as she remembered, "Oh, and Mom said that lunch is almost ready."

Killian nodded, signaling that he'd be there in a bit. Claire turned around and walked back up with a devious smirk on her face. This nine-year-old had something in mind to get back at her little brothers. After all, vengeful thinking sort of ran in her family. She returned to the house with a fake smile on her face as she looked toward her mother.

"He'll be up in a minute."

Regina looked over to Claire as the boys set the table for lunch. "Did you work everything out with your father?"

Claire nodded, "The boys are going with Dad, but I'm going to stay here. I have some homework to do anyway."

Regina stared at her daughter. This was rather unlike her; she loved sailing with her father. Normally, she would take any chance that she could get to go with him. This had been the first time that she ever decided not to go. Regina asked, "Why do you want to stay here, sweetheart? You love sailing with your father."

"Yeah, but he wants to teach Connor and Nathan how to sail, like he did with me. I didn't want to take that away from them." Claire shot her smile towards the boys who also stared with confused expressions. They were used to their sister whining and complaining; actually, they lived for it.

"Alright, if you're sure." Regina hesitated a bit. She too was expecting her daughter to come in whining about the situation.

"I'm sure, Mom. I'll find something else to keep me occupied." The smirk on Claire's little face returned. She had something planned.

0-0-0

After lunch Claire waltzed into her brother's room while they were excitedly getting ready to go sailing. Claire smiled at them with little thoughts floating around in her head. She looked at her brother Nathan, "You excited to learn how to sail with Daddy?"

Nathan smiled up at her and nodded excitedly. He was so thrilled to go on the ship that he didn't even realize that she was oddly being nice to him; it was out of the ordinary. Connor, too, was too excited to realize it.

"What do you think you guys will see?" She tried to bring up a conversation with them.

"Dolphins!" Connor exclaimed.

Nathan chimed in, "And fish!"

Claire laughed, "I bet. You think you'll see a shark?"

"A shark?" Nathan's eyes widened nervously. "There are sharks?"

Claire pretended to warn them, "Oh yes! Tons of sharks and giant squids!"

"Giant squids!" Conner exclaimed fearfully.

Claire, in her mind, was enjoying every second of this mental torment towards her brothers. Her eyes widened as she continued to frighten them, "Yes! Giant! There mouths are so big that they could swallow both of you whole in one bite!"

Nathan looked to her, "But we might not even see them!"

"I don't know…" Claire warned, "There feeding time starts pretty soon! I would hate to see you guys get caught in their swarm."

Connor, now becoming frantic, "They swarm? What does that mean?"

Claire replied, "It means they attack you in a _big_ group! Hundreds of them! So you can't escape!" Claire smiled deviously as she watched tears form in Connor's little eyes; he was far beyond frightened. She looked over to Nathan who was afraid, but not yet hysterical. "And don't get me started on whirl pools!"

Nathan looked confused. With an air of fear in his voice, he asked, "What are _whirly pools_?"

Claire looked straight into his big brown eyes, "Its when the water begins to swirl around the ship." Claire grabbed Nathan's shoulders and began to spin him in circles. "You begin spinning round and round and round until…" She stopped his spinning. He stared at her dizzily. "…the entire ship gets sucked down into the water and disappears!"

Nathan's eyes widened nervously, "What happens to the people on the ship?"

Claire gave a completely casual look. With a smile she simply said, "They die." She turned and waltzed out of the room feeling accomplished in traumatizing her little brothers. They would certainly not want to go sailing with their dad now.

After seeing Claire walk out of her brothers' room, Regina walked in to find the boys standing still with widen eyes. Regina looked confused at them. Suddenly, Connor ran into his mother's arms yelling, "Don't make me go, Mommy! I don't want to!"

Nathan ran to her soon after yelling, "Mommy, I don't want to get sucked into a whirly pool and die!"

Regina held them close as they hysterically cried in her arms, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where did all of this come from?"

The boys continued to cry. Connor exclaimed, "I don't want the giant squids to swallow me, Mommy!"

Regina put her hands through their dark black hair and said, "Boys calm down. None of that is going to happen! Who told you that?" Suddenly, Regina realized who _had _told them all of this. She whispered to the boys, "You two stay here. I'll be right back." Regina stood up; Connor and Nathan hesitated letting go of her.

Regina marched into Claire's room furiously, "What did you say to them?"

Claire looked up at her mother innocently, "What? Nothing."

Regina leaned forward and looked into her daughter's lying eyes, "Don't you dare lie to me, young lady. What did you say to scare them like that?"

Claire raised her voice, "I didn't say anything! I asked if they were excited and they said 'yes'. Then I walked out of the room."

"I hardly believe _that_ is true." Regina could see it in her daughter's eyes; the stubbornness, the attitude, the deviousness that she had possessed. The look on Claire's face was uncanny to Regina's rather evil expressions that she had had in the past.

"But it is." Claire smiled, "What ever they came up with, it was all their own imaginations."

Regina stared down her daughter, but their stubborn personalities were too alike. They could have gone on for hour just glaring at one another trying to see who would break first. But, Regina gave up; it was no use fighting with a nine-year-old, especially one that had the same personality as you. She would just have to keep a close eye on her and make sure that she got caught next time. Then her punishment would be double. Claire smirked as Regina walked out of her room. She had managed to get away with it. Who knows what else she could get away with?

0-0-0

Killian walked into the house and asked Regina, "Are my boys ready to set sail?"

Regina shook her head and sat down at the kitchen counter, "I have a feeling you won't be able to get them out there, dear."

"Why not?" He walked over and leaned across the counter to meet Regina face-to-face.

"Because your dear daughter managed to put wild thoughts into their heads. They are practically traumatized." Regina sighed. "And she is being stubborn; she won't tell me what she told them and the boys are much to frighten to repeat it to me. But there was something with giant squids and whirl pools… and I have no idea…"

Killian smirked and replied, "Well it actually sounds like she's _your_ daughter at the moment, love."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She looked at him insulted. Regina stood up and brought the drinking glass in her hand to the sink.

When she turned around, Killian placed his hands to her shoulders and slid them down her arms as he replied, "I mean maybe Claire has a little bit of our _Queen's_ personality. Stubborn, tormenting, cheerfully traumatizing people with a smile on her face…"

Regina still looked insulted by what he was saying though she knew that he was right. But what had made Claire think that these things were alright? She couldn't have just woken up one morning and had a complete change in personality. Could she? It didn't seem normal for a nine-year-old girl.

"Dear?" She began to think. "Why don't you take Claire out on the ship?"

"What? Don't you think that's just indulging her a bit too much, Regina?"

Regina gave that same devious smile, "Perhaps, but I need to get her out of room for a bit. There has to be something that gave her the idea to act like this."

Killian understood what she meant and nodded his head. He kissed her and went to get their daughter.

0-0-0

While Killian took Claire out sailing and the boys napped in their room, Regina took it upon herself to peruse through her daughter's room. There just had to be something. There were toys, clothes, books, but nothing stuck out to her. Regina looked at her desk. She rolled her eyes as she noticed her daughter's unfinished homework lying on there. There was nothing there either. Regina decided to check her daughter's bed. There was nothing under it nor was there anything under her pillow.

Regina decided to check one last sneaky place, between the mattresses. She lifted the little mattress of her daughter's bed. Regina's eyes widened as she realized what it was. How did Claire get it? Regina pulled it out and put the mattress back down. She sat on the bed and placed in on her lap. This was the one thing Regina did not want to happen. Claire had Henry's old fairytale book.


	4. The Book

"Daddy!" Nathan yelled running into his father's arms as he returned from sailing with Claire. Regina walked in from the living room with Connor in her arms and a smile on her face. Killian stood up with Nathan in his arms and leaned over to peck Regina's lips. As he did, the twins high-fived one another and laughed. Claire stared at them for a moment and then quietly walked to her room saying nothing.

Regina looked over confused at Killian. She placed her son down and said, "Sweetie, why don't and your brother go finish watching your show." Killian placed Nathan down to run along with his brother.

Killian then looked at Regina and questioned about Claire. "What was that?"

"How'd the sailing go?"

"It was perfectly fine. I don't know what's with her now though. Did you find anything in her room?"

"Oh yeah." Regina said while walking into the kitchen as Killian followed. Regina took out the old book and plopped it onto the counter.

"What the bloody hell is that?" He opened it up and looked through it. "I doubt a bunch of fairytale stories is going to do much, love."

"Look again…" Regina pointed to the picture. "It's not just some random book. These are our stories. It's the book that Henry was given before he went and found Emma in the first place."

"I still don't see the problem. It's not like she knows. I mean, we could read these to the boys too. They are not just going to assume that it's us."

Regina slammed the book shut furiously, "Yes, let's read it to our five-year-old sons. As if this book hasn't corrupted enough of my children!"

"I was just making a point, love. We don't know if she knows anything about it. Would you like me to talk to her?"

Regina picks up the book, opens it and stares at the image of herself as the Evil Queen. She hoped that Claire didn't know; it had caused so many problems with Henry when he was that age. Her heart could not take another situation like that. She looked up at Killian and said, "No. I'll talk to her. You go spend some time with your sons." She kissed him again before making her way to her daughter's room.

0-0-0

Regina hesitated opening the door. She knocked and peaked inside to see her nine-year-old daughter sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book in her hands.

"Claire, sweetheart?" Regina walked in with the book.

Claire looked up at Regina as she walked in. She noticed the book in her hands and glared angrily. "Why did you go through my stuff, Mom?"

Regina signed, "Because I needed to."

"No you didn't. It's _my_ stuff." Claire said with attitude.

"And I'm _your_ mother. Claire, I need to know why you've been acting so strange." Regina walked over and sat on Claire's bed.

Claire avoided eye contact and stared down at the open book in her hands, "I'm not acting strange."

"I would say that little incident with your brother's was more than strange. What made you think that saying things like that was alright?"

Still not looking up, she replied, "I told you I didn't say anything to them."

Regina lifted her daughter's chin so that she would look at her. She said sternly, "Claire, stop lying to me. What made you say that?"

"I didn't say anything! Why do you and Dad always take their sides?" Claire pulled away from Regina.

"Your father and I do not always take their sides."

"Yes you do! I'm the one who always gets in trouble or has to change because _it's not fair to the boys_! You know what!" Claire grabbed the book from Regina's lap and opened it to a picture of the Evil Queen. She showed it to her mother and said, "She never had to be fair! She just did what she wanted because she had magic!" Claire put the book down and mumbled angrily, "Sometimes I wish I had magic so I could make my brothers disappear."

Regina's eyes widen furiously. "Claire! Don't you ever say that again!"

Claire yelled back, "Why not? It's true! She's the one who got her happy ending, not the good guys! She cast the curse and won! She won because she didn't have to be _fair. _So neither do I!"

Regina calmed down and looked into her daughter's dark brown eyes, "Claire that's not the whole story. See, the last few pages are ripped out. The Evil Queen lost a lot because she was like that. She was feared and very alone too."

"How do you know? You didn't know her? She's a fairytale character." Claire looked up confused.

Regina smiled, "You'd be surprised." She looked at Claire sincerely. "Sweetheart, I love you, but you can't act like that. Do you understand? No good will come of it."

Claire looked at her mother and finally understood. "Fine." She replied.

"Good." Regina leaned in and hugged her daughter tightly. She sighed with relief and hoped that it would just be the end of it.

Claire looked back at her book, "You know, Mom. You look like her." Regina's stomach dropped as she heard this. She hoped that Claire wouldn't ask any questions. Claire continued, "But you don't act like her." Regina smiled and felt relieved to hear that.

"Come on. Let's go join the boys and your father in the living room." Regina took her daughters hand as Claire set aside the book happily and went with her.

**-6 Years Later-**

"Dad?" Claire asked as she looked out on the horizon at the little town on the coast. "Why don't we ever dock at that town?"

Killian ignored the question and directed her, "Love, keep your eyes open while you're steering. You need to look around at everything. Don't just stare at one spot." He held the wheel with her and helped her turn it, steering clear of the town line.

"Dad, are you going to answer me?" Claire asked again.

"About what, love?"

"Why don't we ever go there?" Claire asked now becoming persistent.

Killian wasn't sure how to answer her. He couldn't tell her the truth; Regina would kill him! So what could he say? He hesitated and then said, "Because its just not a good place." It was the best he could come up with in the moment.

With an air of sarcasm, the young teen rolled her eyes and asked, "And what makes it so bad?"

Killian thought again and answered, "There are just people that your mother and I wish to protect you from, love."

"Whatever." Claire replied. She was still very curious as to what might be there. Why were her parents so bent on keeping her away? She had always asked why they couldn't go and either got no answer or a vague one like her father just gave. She wonder why they thought hiding the reason from her would help; it actually made it worse. She was, after all, _their_ daughter, stubborn, curious and devious beyond all else. She had a plan obviously and was going to find out what the fuss about this town was.


	5. An Escape

Walking along the beach, Claire continuously thought about that town on the coast. Her parents never told her why she wasn't allowed to go there. But the more they said no, the more she was curious to find out. But how could she get there? They lived on a random island outside of the town with nothing but her father's ship. She couldn't just take that and leave her family stranded.

She stared out at the horizon and the vision of the town from the island. Her feet dipped in the water, Claire feared that this was probably as close to freedom as she could get. What made her parents think that confining their family to one measly island would be good for them? She felt trapped there.

Claire suddenly heard strange noises coming from another close area on the beach. She followed the sounds and as she got closer, she realized that they were the sounds of a person. When she found him, she noticed that he was rather young, a teenager about her own age.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously. Claire's rather sheltered life prevented her from meeting other people. This boy was the first outsider that she had ever met.

The boy jumped a bit as he realized that he was not alone. "Oh! Hi, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was here. Uh, my boat got pulled in with the tide. I'm just waiting for it to comeback up so I can head back home."

Claire smiled naively and asked, "Do you live in that town over there?"

"Storybrooke? Yeah, born and raised there." He smiled.

"Storybrooke? That's an interesting name for a town," She said. "What's it like?"

The boy looked to Claire confused, "You've never been there? What?" He laughed, "Have you lived on this island for or your life or something?"

Claire answered bluntly, "Yeah."

"Oh." He replied awkwardly.

Claire laughed and stared into his blue eyes curiously. It was rather refreshing to meet someone new, and this boy was rather charming and pleasant to talk with. She wished to continue their conversation more, but he would soon leave and head back to the town. She would be stuck again on the island alone and trapped. Suddenly, an idea popped into the young teenager's head.

"Hey, uh, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess." The boy answered hesitantly.

"Could I return with you to this… Storybrooke… town?" Claire asked with a hopeful smile.

"Don't you have parents? You can't just leave them, can you?"

"I can just ask. But will you wait for me?" Clearly, Claire did not intend on asking her parents to leave; they would simply say no. But, she had never been off of that island for fifteen years! It was time for a change. And if they weren't going to let her, she would just have to find a way herself.

"Sure. But you need to hurry back. I have to get back before dark or my parents will kill me." Claire nodded to the boy with a smile of excitement. As she turned to run to her house, the boy asked, "Hey. I don't even know your name."

She turned and said, "Oh, yeah. It's Claire. What's yours?"

"James." The blonde, blue-eyed boy smiled. "I'll be waiting."

Claire yelled as she ran off, "I will find you, don't worry!"

0-0-0

Regina looked up as her daughter barreled through the door and ran to her room. "Claire! What are you doing?"

"Nothing! Just… uh… getting something!" She yelled from her room.

"Like what?" Regina knew her daughter was up to something suspicious.

"Nothing important…" She yelled.

"Fine." Regina stopped badgering.

Claire ran back out with a backpack. She threw it over her should and kissed her mother's cheek. With an excited look she lied to her mother. "I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" Regina asked. She was oddly surprised by her daughter's behavior. Normally, Claire had a big attitude towards Regina.

Claire turned and smiled, "On a little adventure."

"Oh. So you decided to go out on the ship with your father and the boys?"

Claire hesitated for a moment and just said, "Yeah."

"Alright, sweetheart. Have fun."

She ran out of the house and back to meet her new friend. Claire was surprised that Regina hadn't been more concerned. Granted, its not like she knew that Claire was capable of getting off of the island, so she normally had nothing to worry about. Little did Regina know that everything she and Killian had done for their family was about to drastically change as Claire ran out that door.

Claire ran into her father and brother's shortly after making her way out of the house. Killian looked over to her and said, "Hello there, love."

"Hi, Dad. I think I'm going to stay here with Mom while you guys go sailing today." Claire smirked. Something about lying to her parents gave her some pleasure; it made her feel like a rebel.

"Alright, love." He kissed her head and brought his attention back to the boys who were preparing the ship for their father.

Claire, while he was not looking, began to run back to the spot where she had met James.

0-0-0

"Hey!" She called, out of breath from running across the island.

"Oh, great! You found me!" James smiled while pushing the boat back on the water.

Claire smiled catching her breath, "Did you have doubts that I would?"

"Well, it was getting late. I thought I'd have to leave without you. Come on."

Claire threw her bag into the boat and helped James push off before hopping in. He hopped in after her and started the engine. Claire looked at it; it was much more modern than her father's ship.

James curiously asked, "So, do your parents normally let you hop on boats with random strangers and go to a strange town by yourself?"

Claire replied confidently, "I prefer to make my own decisions."

James laughed, "Well, you seem pretty confident in yourself."

"That bad thing?"

"Not at all! I admire it in people. Shows that you've got guts." James smiled.

"I get it from my parents." Claire replied.

"Same here." James said. Claire laughed at him teasingly. "What are you laughing at?"

"You. You have no idea how to steer this boat." Claire laughed again.

"What and you do?" He asked sarcastically.

"I know how to steer a pirate ship… it seems like the same thing. Let me try." James stared at her, hesitant to let her steer. "What? You just said you had guts. Well then show me and let me steer a bit."

James sighed and let Claire take the wheel. "Just try not to kill us, _please_. Wait... did you say _pirate_ ship?"

Claire gave him a smirk. "I'll try my best. And yeah." Suddenly James fell back at the jerking of the boat. Claire laughed and said sarcastically, "Whoops…"

"Not funny…" He said while getting back up.

0-0-0

"Dad! Look!" Nathan yelled while look out his father's telescope.

Connor grabbed it from his hand and looked through it. "Whoa. No way!"

Killian took it from his son, "What is so interesting?" Killian's heart skipped a beat as he looked into the telescope. He couldn't speak and his stomach dropped as he watched his daughter cross over the town line into Storybrooke, and with a boy nevertheless. He tossed it to his son, hoping he would catch it and ran to the house.

Out of breath, Killian stumbled into the house, "Regina! We've got a problem!"

"What? Dear, you look like you've seen a ghost! What's wrong?" Regina walked to him and placed her hands on his shoulders trying to calm him.

Catching his breath, he replied. "Claire… she's gone…"

"Gone? Gone where? I though she was going with you and the boys." Regina looked nervous.

"She told me that she was… staying with you." Killian exhaled.

Regina began to panic, "Damn it! Then where the hell is she?"

Killian hesitated telling her. He was nervous of how she'd react, but obviously it wouldn't be good either no matter how he said it so he just did. "She went over the line into town."

"What? How the hell did she do that?"

"Not sure. She was with a boy on what looked like his boat." Killian replied.

Regina looked confused. "But, people can't leave town."

"Love, this was a boy; the same age as her. Probably not from our land. He was most likely born in town and _could_ leave."

Regina stared at him and said, "I don't care. I care that he's taken our daughter to the _one _place that we were trying to prevent her from going to!"

Killian looked at her with more bad news, "Regina, _she_ was driving the boat. He didn't take her; _she left_."

Regina suddenly felt hurt and anger rush over her. No, this could not happen again. She could not have driven away her daughter. Her mouth wide open, trying not to cry, Regina covered up her emotions and replied, "Well, we need to get her back before she finds out too much. Go get the boys and have them come pack a few things." Regina sighed, "Looks like we are heading back to Storybrooke."


	6. Breaking and Entering

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these character with the exception of Claire, James, Nathan and Connor.**

**Authors note: Loved writing this chapter. I enjoy developing Claire's and James' relationship and of course adding some Captainqueen in there as well. Thanks for sticking with this story! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Whoa, Regina, slow down!" Killian exclaimed as Regina scrambled about the room packing clothes and necessities. "You are acting far too rash." He grabbed her arm to stop her and held her shoulders. He had a concerned expression on his face, but Regina's eyes saw through it. All she had on her mind was finding her daughter at all costs.

"I'm not being rash." Regina pulled away and continued putting clothes into a bag. "Our daughter is in Storybrooke and about to learn everything about our pasts, about magic! How can you not care about this?" She looked at him with worried eyes.

"I never said that I didn't care." Killian took a step towards her but she brushed passed him without notice.

"Then why aren't you doing anything? We need to get to town and find her as soon as possible." Regina placed a second set of clothes in the bag and mumbled to herself, "And when I do find her, she is going to be ground for life…"

"Regina, just stop! For one minute!" Killian raised his voice. Regina stood up straight and stared at him.

"No. I'm not stopping until I find her." Regina tried walking passed him again but he stepped in front of her. She took a step to the side, but he countered it. She tried swerving to the other side, but he refused to let her pass. "Killian, knock it off."

"Not until you calm down and listen to me." He looked down into her angry brown eyes.

"I don't have time for this." Regina tried pushing the man away. With quick force, Killian grabbed Regina arm and pushed her onto the bed. He straddled her waist and held her arms down with all of his strength. He didn't hold so hard as to hurt her, just to hold her down so that he could speak and she would be forced to listen. "What the hell are you doing? Get off of me!"

Killian smiled a made a playful comment. "What's with the fuss, love? You've never had a problem with me doing this for the past sixteen years before."

"I'm not playing your damn games! Now get off of me!" Regina raised her voice and tried to struggle.

"Not until you calm down and listen to me." Killian replied. Regina stopped struggling within a minute and Killian continued. "We don't know if she might come back. Why risk going there and bringing the boys? Wouldn't that just cause a bigger problem?"

"And what if she doesn't comeback? She's fifteen! She doesn't know how to make her own decisions."

"What makes you think she won't come back? And if we chase after her, won't she just try to run farther away from you? Isn't that was happened with Henry? Don't hold on so tight, love. Let her make her own mistakes."

Regina listened to what he was saying. Sadly, she knew that he was right. Running after Claire might be the worst thing that she could do and she did not want to lose her like she had lost Henry for those years. She looked up at Killian and then nodded her head to show him that she understood.

As Killian smiled and leaned down to kiss her, the couple was interrupted by their son Connor. "Mom…" He pushed the door open and noticed his father sitting on top of his mother, pinning her arms down on the bed. His eyes widened. "What are you guys doing?"

Killian and Regina stared at their son. Regina looked to Killian and whispered, "Well, get off!" The couple scrambled to get up off of the bed. They stood side by side and stared at the boy who just awkwardly stared back.

Suddenly, their second son Nathan walked in. "Connor did you ask?" He looked to his brother who was staring at their parents. All four were silent until Nathan interrupted. "Awkward…"

Regina managed a smile and asked, "What is it boys?"

Connor continued to stare in shock; his face blushed redder that the scarlet shirt that his mother was wearing. Instead, Nathan replied, "We just needed to know what to pack."

"Oh, your father and I have decided that we aren't going. So you can just go back out to the ship and your father will take you out like he planned." Regina stared at Connor's red face. She was utterly embarrassed.

"Okay." Nathan looked at his frozen brother. "Dude." He pushed him to get his attention. "What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

The boys walked out of the room and Connor whispered to his brother, "No… much worse. I would have rather seen the ghost…"

Regina looked over to Killian and couldn't help but smirk at what just happen. She laughed and slapped his arm, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Killian smiled, "Not sure." Regina laughed and stepped into Killian's embrace. He continued, "Hope we didn't traumatized the poor boy."

"Well I told you to get off of me." Regina smiled.

Killian laughed, "But now where is the fun in that, love?" He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Regina closed her eyes and felt herself calming as he kissed her. When the parted she commented, "You are going to have to do that a lot so I don't overreact about Claire."

Killian leaned in close again. "That will be no problem at all, love," he whispered as he pressed his lips to hers again.

0-0-0

"So, this is Granny's." James said as he and Claire walked through the doors of the diner. Claire looked up as the bell chimed and stepped inside curiously. She looked around at the people; some men sat at the bar drinking and conversing, a couple or two sat in booths with smiles on their faces. It was a quaint place, she thought. Suddenly, her thought was interrupted as James got her attention. "Come on, let's sit."

"No, I'm okay. Not very hungry." Claire replied as she snapped out of her daze. She really didn't want to just sit and eat; that was way too boring. She wanted to do something fun on her first night in Storybrooke.

"Oh. Then let me just talk to Granny about getting you a room at the inn." James walked away just as the bell of the diner rang. Claire turned around and noticed that it was an older man and a young woman with two children: a boy, about the same age as Claire's brothers, and a little girl, about six or so. The man had a cane and a look that sent chills down Claire's spine; something about him got her nervous. The woman, on the other hand, had a very sweet and gentle complexion. Her big eyes were a lovely shade of blue and her long brown hair curled almost perfectly. Claire tried not to stare at the couple; she averted her eyes back to James who was approaching her.

"Alright. It's all set." James said with a smile.

"Thanks." Claire said meekly, still trying to avoid the man for some reason.

Unfortunately for her, the couple and their children walked right up to them pleasantly. "Good evening, boy." The man greeted James with his arm around his own sons shoulders.

"Hey, Mr. Gold. Belle." James nodded with a smile. He looked down at the kids. "Hey guys." The little girl waved cheerfully and the boy smiled.

"Good evening, James." The woman said sweetly with a very unforgettable accent. She placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and whispered, "Why don't you and your brother find us a booth, sweetheart." She kissed the little girl's head before letting her and her older brother run off.

"And who is this charming young lady." The man smiled towards Claire. She couldn't be rude so she was forced to look up into his rather dark and mischievous eyes. She mustered up a half-smile.

James introduced her, "This is Claire. She's visiting Storybrooke for the first time."

The woman Belle replied, "Well it's very kind of you to be showing her around, James. You are quite the gentleman." Belle looked over to Claire. "James will show you all you need to know here."

It was much easier for Claire to smile at the kind woman. The man gave her a strange feeling, but he didn't seem too bad once she began talking to him.

James chimed back in, "We should be going. Have a nice dinner."

"Thank you, my boy." The man replied. He nodded to the two teens before escorting Belle to the table where the children sat.

Claire looked at James who held the door open for her. She smiled and walked out. The two kids walked down the street while James talked about the town to Claire. He pointed out the bed and breakfast where she would be staying, where the market was, where she could even go to get a haircut. He was rather thorough in his explanations; it was like he was a professional tour guide or something. Claire couldn't help but giggle at this.

James looked to her confused, "What are you laughing at?"

Claire stopped laughing and tried to hide it, "Nothing. I wasn't laughing." She smiled innocently.

James suddenly realized. "Yeah you were. I sound like a nerd, don't I?"

Claire laughed, "Yeah, well, I don't really think I'll need to go to a shrink while I'm visiting…"

"Guess I just got a little carried away… Don't judge me." James laughed jokingly.

Claire smirked, "I won't." She found James rather amusing and entertaining, not to mention funny. She liked that. Normally, at home, Claire was stuck having to listen to what her father thought was funny when, in reality, he was just embarrassing himself with bad jokes. She would also have to suffer through what her brothers thought was funny, which was just tormenting her until she screamed and then _she_ would get in trouble. The sense of humor that James had was kind of similar to hers; it was quirky and sweet.

Claire looked around at the adorable houses on the street. She wondered what was so bad about this place that her parents didn't want her to come. It seemed like just a plain old town with kind people who would greet you as they walked by on the street. There was nothing seemingly dangerous whatsoever.

James noticed that Claire was staring at the humongous white house that they were passing. He pointed it out and said, "That's the Mayor's house. Biggest one on the street."

"It's beautiful! Why are all of the lights off? It's only 7 o'clock." Claire wondered.

"No one lives there." James answered staring up at the house.

"What do you mean? You just said that it was the Mayor's house." Claire was becoming confused.

"Yeah. _Was_ the Mayor's house. It's been abandon for as long as I've lived."

Claire looked over to him strangely and curiously. "Do you know what happened?"

"My parents said that she just moved away before I was born. She's never come back either." James explained.

"Then why doesn't someone move in? Why leave something like that abandoned for so long?" Claire asked.

"I don't know." James looked over to her and suddenly noticed that she was trying to push the gate open. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going in. I want to see the inside." Claire pushed the gate open and started walking up to the door.

James chased after her frantically. "Claire, that's breaking and entering."

"You said it was abandoned." She looked at him.

James gave her a look of disbelief. "That doesn't make a difference!" He watched as Claire wiggled the doorknob. "See it's locked." He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away from the door. As he pulled her, Claire's other arm jerked up and swung in a strange motion. She pulled away stubbornly. Both kids turned to look at the door, which was now swung open by something. Claire looked in amazement. James stared nervously. "What did you do?"

"I don't know. Maybe I just loosened it. Whatever, let's go." Claire peeked inside and then looked back at James. She rolled her eyes. "Are you coming?"

"My parents will kill me."

"Come on you big baby. If I always listened to what my parents told me, I'd still be stuck on that damn island."

"Wait, you never asked them?"

"I actually just full-on lied to them, but that's not the point. The point is, are you coming or not?" Claire placed her hands on her hips and swung her head back impatiently letting her long black hair fall back off her shoulders.

James signed angrily and walked into the house as Claire shut the door behind them. It was pitch black and impossible for the two teens to see anything. James slowly reached around for a wall and accidently smacked Claire. "Ow!" She exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"

"Shh." He quieted her. "You want to get caught?"

"We're not going to get caught. Do have a light or something?" Claire whispered.

"Yep. I came totally prepared." James said with an air of sarcasm.

"Really?"

"No. You think I walk around with a flashlight in my pocket so that I can break into other people's houses?" James whispered.

Claire sighed aggravated with his attitude. "It's been abandoned for years. Now stop being a hard ass. Get your phone out or something."

James took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. She turned it on; it provided a decent light, at least enough so that they could see where they were walking. Claire looked around in amazement; the house was huge and so beautiful. All of the furniture was still in place, though dust covered everything after fifteen years. Claire made her way into what looked like the Mayor's old office. She walked up to the dust-covered desk; it seemed as if, whoever it was, they left in a hurry. Papers and work still crowded the desk. Claire sat down in the chair after brushing off the dust and began to spin.

She looked up as James sat on a loveseat in the dark and said, "I could get used to living here. This mayor of yours had some good taste." She continued to spin around.

Suddenly, Claire stopped spinning the chair as she noticed a picture on the desk. Her head kept spinning, so it was rather blurry. She couldn't make out whom the person was, but it was a woman with red lips and dark hair. There was another person, a kid probably, but Claire was too dizzy to see. Just as her vision cleared and she was about to get a good look, she heard the sound of the front door slam open.

A blonde man and a blonde woman entered cautiously. The man yelled, "Put you hands where I can see them!" He looked straight at Claire who jumped up from the seat and put her hands up then stumbled a bit from the dizziness. The man looked over to James. He eyes widened in shock, "James?"

James stood up nervously, "Dad?"

"Dad?" Claire exclaimed. "You're dad's a cop?"

The woman brought the Claire over to the rest of them and said, "Sheriff actually."

James looked at Claire with a rather pissed off expression. "I told you we'd get caught."


	7. Jailbirds

The Sheriff's station was completely empty inside. No one sat in the jail cells and the lights had been off the first time they walked in. James' father made them sit down beside his desk while he called someone. The blonde woman sat down and tried to stare down the young teenage girl. She tried making conversation too, but Claire seemed skeptical.

"You got parents we can call, kid?" She asked Claire.

Claire was stubborn and refused to cooperate with her in any way. She replied, "I have a name you know." She ignored the actual question.

"Okay. What is it?" The woman shifted in her chair, placed her elbow on the armrest and rested her head in her hand.

Claire gave a devious smirk and tilted her head to the right side. "I never said I'd give it to you."

"Oh, looks like we've got a smart ass here." She yelled over to the man who seemed to be waiting for someone at the other end of the room. The teenager snuffed at her and then looked over to James. For someone who said that he had guts only a few hours ago, he looked like such a coward. He sat beside Claire, nervously tapping his fingers and his foot. She thought that he might stand up and scream at one point; he seemed so scared.

As the woman stood and walked away from the teens, Claire leaned over and whispered, "What is wrong with you? Calm down."

"I'm not going to calm down. I told you we'd get caught, Claire." He replied with a shaky voice.

"Yeah. By your dad. I doubt he's going to give you _that_ bad of a punishment for breaking into an old abandoned house." Claire didn't show even an ounce of fear.

She turned her head and watched as a woman with short dark hair frantically entered the station. She wore jeans and a simple shirt with a scarf. When she came in she went up to the Sheriff nervously and asked him a question before approaching the teens.

She walked up to James with wide and nervous hazel-green eyes. He quickly stood up; he was taller than her by a few inches. She exclaimed, "James!" hugging him tightly. After pushing his shoulders back and holding them, she looked at him in a reprimanding manner and said, "What were you thinking? Are you okay?" She pulled him into another hug.

He mumbled embarrassedly, "I'm fine, Mom."

The Sheriff walked to them and exclaimed, "Don't ask him if he's alright." He was stern. He looked to his son and said, "You are in so much trouble, mister. What were you thinking breaking into a house like that?"

He stuttered a bit and fumbled over his words. Claire stared for a while before jumping in. "It was my fault. I made him go in."

James' mother stared at the girl with a confused expression. "Who are you?" She asked.

James gave his mother her name. "Her name's Claire."

Claire looked at the couple that was awkwardly staring at her. She stood slowly and, with I slight wave of her hand, said, "Hi…" They continued to stare at her.

James' father, still furious, said, "Well congratulations, Claire and James. You've just won yourselves a night in a jail cell."

"Whoa." James' mother placed a hand on her husband's chest. "David, can I talk to you for a moment?" The couple walked the other end of the room, while the blonde woman kept an eye on the two teens.

She pulled her husband aside and whispered, "Don't you think you are going a little overboard with this, David?"

"Snow, they were caught for breaking and entering." He replied.

"That house has been abandoned for years!" She exclaimed. "And it's not like anyone got hurt."

"We can't just let this slide, Snow. If he's doing these things at sixteen, then what do you think he'll be doing later on? Punish him now so he'll learn his lesson."

Still not keen on the idea, she replied, "I understand that, but a jail cell? Is that really necessary? Why not just ground him?"

David sighed. "I can't do that. It's one night, Snow. The girl has to do it too. They'll be fine. Emma and I will keep an eye on them tonight." Snow glared at him; she was clearly upset with him for what he was choosing as punishment. With her hands crossed in front of her chest and a sigh, she nodded her head. He kissed her forehead before walking back over to the kids. "Okay, guys. Let's go."

"What?" James asked nervously.

"Like I said. One night in the cells. Emma and I will kept an eye on you tonight."

Claire gave a comment. "Well this sucks."

0-0-0

"Alright guys. I'm heading to Granny's for a coffee." Emma stood up. She was clearly exhausted already. She gave a glare at the teens and said sarcastically, "Try not cause any trouble."

Without any hesitation, Claire snapped back, "Yes, because it is so easy to do behind these bars." She smirked at Emma knowing that her little smart-ass comebacks were annoying her. Emma glared at the young girl; something about that smile and the tone of her voice made Emma cringe. It seemed familiar somehow. Emma acted as the bigger person and ignored the comment. She glanced at James before making her way out of the station and leaving the two alone.

Claire lied on the cot in her cell and sighed. She stared up at the ceiling and then let her head fall to the side so that she was looking over at James, sitting in the other cell. His back rested against the wall as he fiddled his fingers around. She stared for a while at him, but he wouldn't look at her; he hadn't looked at her since they were led into the cells. She knew that he was pissed off at her, but she couldn't help herself.

"Hey, James." She tried getting his attention, but he ignored her. "Psst. James." She said again, but he still ignored her. Finally and rather impatiently, Claire took of her shoe and flung it at the bars that divided their cells. "James!"

He couldn't help but jump. "What the hell do you want? Can't you see you've done enough? Just leave me alone."

Claire became defensive. "Jeez. Who shoved a stick up your ass? I just wanted to talk."

"All you do is talk! You never shut up!" James exclaimed, finally making some eye contact with her. There was a silence where Claire did not make her usual comeback. "What no smart-ass comment?" James watched the pain in her eyes; he had hit something inside her. She rolled over on the bed and said nothing. It seemed that maybe those comments were what hide her real feelings. James looked over, guilty for what he had said. "Look, Claire, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah you did. Fine. I'll leave you alone." She mumbled quietly.

James tried to bring back her cheery disposition. "No. Come on! You want to talk? I'll talk."

Claire rolled back over and stared with an angry expression. "Why are you like this? Such a… a… hard-ass. Do your parents _ever_ let you do anything fun?"

"Yeah, _fun!_ Not _illegal!_" He emphasized.

"So… _no_ then." Claire smiled.

James, though he thought her sarcasm sometimes annoying, still liked talking to her. She had a strong personality; a bit complicated, but strong nevertheless. And he liked that she smiled when they talked together. He laughed, "They're protective, and for a good reason."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Yeah. My parents are protective too. _So_ protective that our family lives alone on a random island where I am home schooled and have no friends… I'm sure they thought that was for a good reason too."

James smiled awkwardly. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation."

Claire scoffed, "You say that like they are going to tell me the reason. Trust me. They'd probably die before explaining it to me; they've been hiding it my whole life. There is _some _reason why they don't want me here either, but they'll never tell me."

"That why you came here?" James asked curiously.

"Well yeah. Wouldn't you?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

Claire stared at him for a while; his smile glistened in the shallow lights of the station. Something wandered into her mind and she couldn't help but ask. "Hey, James?"

"Yeah?"

"You know the story behind that old house? Why'd she leave?" Claire was curious to know after seeing the huge house. "I mean, if I had a place like that, I wouldn't have gone anywhere."

James pondered for a moment before answering. "My parents used to say things here and there about her, but I don't really know much. I was just a baby when she left."

"What did your parents used to say?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "My dad told me stories about how wicked she was. This is going to sound crazy to you, but she was evil and cursed the entire town years ago."

Claire stared at him confused. "Curse? Like magic? Yeah, you sound pretty crazy."

"Then just bear with me. Okay?" James laughed.

"I'll try…" Claire seemed hesitant. James began to tell her the story, the real story, about the people of Storybrooke and how the Evil Queen trapped them there with her curse. He told the story about Emma the savior and the Mayor whose name escaped him. Claire found herself intrigued by this Evil Queen/Mayor; she was quiet the "bad ass." After he finished his entire explanation, Claire said in amazement, "Personally, I'd love to meet this Queen. She sounds so cool."

"Seriously?" James seemed a little nervous that Claire was intrigued by the evil person.

"Yeah! Magic, fairytales, good and evil! I can't believe its all real! And your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming! And an Evil Queen! Too bad she's not still here. So, you don't know why she ever left?"

James shrugged. "You could ask my parents."

"Yeah, that'd be totally normal…" Claire commented sarcastically. James laughed. Claire asked him, "What was this mayor's name?"

James thought about it. He couldn't remember right away. As he took a breath, about to reveal it to Claire, Emma walked into the room. "I'm back. Thought you guys would be hungry, so I got you some grilled cheeses." Emma looked at the too and noticed that she had interrupted their little conversation. "Everything okay in here?"

James smiled. "Yup!" His smile reminded Emma of Henry; it was almost the same exact one. James stood up and took the bag from Emma.

Claire hesitated a bit before getting up. She looked down at the bag in Emma's hand. As Emma handed it to her, Claire replied, "Thanks." It was the first modest think that she said to Emma all night. Emma smiled before going to sit back down.

0-0-0

The sounds of the jingling keys woke the sleeping teenager. Claire's eyes opened. She winced at the brightness of the light and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked over to see James' father unlocking her cell. Claire slowly sat up, pushed the blanket off of her and stood up. She stumbled a bit from standing too fast, but soon made her way out of the cell. She looked sleepily at the sheriff as he unlocked his son's cell. James still slept. David walked into the cell and shook the boy. "Come on, bud. You made it through the night. Let's go."

James moaned and rolled over. He slowly sat up, with his eyes still closed. They opened suddenly and he looked over at the teenage girl standing in the doorway of the cell. She smiled at him and said in a singsong voice, "Wake up sleepy-head."

James laughed at her as he rubbed his eyes. He looked up at his father and lost his smile. James stood in front of his father and said, "Dad, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, son." David stroked his son's light hair and pulled him into an embrace. Claire watched with a smile. She thought James looked a lot like his father with the same blue eyes and light hair and very similar stern but gentle personalities. James peaked over to Claire as his father embraced him and then suddenly pushed him away and straightened himself up in front of her. David looked at his son confused, looked over to Claire, and then back to his son with a smirk on his face as he realized. The man laughed and patted his son's back before leading him out of the cell. As Claire walked to the door, David gripped his son's shoulders and whispered quietly, "Why don't you take her to breakfast?" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few bills and handed them to his son. "Just try not to get into trouble this time." He patted his son's back approvingly once more. James took the money and smiled at his father before heading out with the girl.

0-0-0

Walking down the streets of Storybrooke side by side, Claire and James feel somewhat awkward. Claire wondered why the two of them were acting so strangely this morning considering the conversation they had the previous night. There was really no need to feel that way. She tucked her dark hair behind her ears and looked up at the boy; his light hair was ruffled from sleep. She had the impulse to reach up and brush the smooth blonde hair back neatly, but she felt that she would be getting too personal with him.

James watched his feet as he walked with his hand in his pockets. He looked up as Doctor Hopper walked by on his usual route with his dog Pongo. The man greeted him. "Good morning, James! Beautiful day, isn't it?"

James smiled and nodded to him. "Morning, Doctor Hopper. It sure is!"

Claire smiled as the man walked on. She looked to James and asked, "Doctor Hopper… the shrink?"

James replied, "Jiminy Cricket."

Claire pondered for a moment before realizing. "Oh! Shrink… conscience… very creative of this Evil Queen." She laughed.

James returned the laughter. Claire glanced up as they approached Mr. Gold's pawnshop. For some reason, it still gave her chills to think of that man, but she didn't know why. Something intrigued the girl to ask, "Hey, James? Before we head to breakfast, could we go in there?"

"Mr. Gold's shop? Sure. Why not?" James shrugged his shoulders, approached the door and opened it like a charming gentleman. Claire nodded and smiled as she entered the shop and looked around in amazement.

The old man walked from the back room. "Why, good morning."

Claire looked at him and smiled awkwardly. "This place is amazing."

James smiled at the man. "Good morning, Mr. Gold. How was your evening with Belle and the kids?"

"Wonderful, my boy. Thank you for asking." He smiled calmly. "What brings you here so early in the morning, dearies?"

James replied as Claire looks around the shop, "Claire wished to see the shop before we headed to breakfast."

Mr. Gold looked to the girl. "Ah. Intrigued by antiques, dearie?"

"You could say that." She replied.

The man laughed and brought his attention to James. "My boy, I hate to ask this, but could you bring these things to the back room for me?" He gestured to a box of old trinkets on the floor.

James smiled and picked up the box. "Of course." He headed to the back room, leaving the girl and the old man alone.

Claire flipped her long hair back and looked at the man with skeptical eyes. She commented, "You don't think I notice a ploy to get rid of someone when I see it, Mr. Gold?"

The man laughed, "Very perceptive girl. Like your parents."

Claire fiddled with an antique on the counter. "Some might say paranoid, but I prefer your term. You know my parents?"

"Why, dearie, it's not hard to see. You are the spitting image of your mother. The eyes, the smile, the expressions; I can even here her in you voice a bit."

Claire smiled at the man's comment. "Well, thank you. Now, what is it you really wished to discuss with me because I'm sure you didn't coax James out of the room just to talk about how I look like my mother."

"Very straight-to-the-point, like your father too." He laughed. "You are correct though. I wanted to give you this." He turned away, opened the case on the wall behind the counter and pulled out something. As he turned, Claire noticed that it was an old dusty book.

She walked closer to him, curious of the item. "What is it?"

"It belonged to your mother, dearie. And your grandmother before that. It's how I taught them."

Claire looked up at the man. "Taught them what?"

"Magic, dearie. What else?"

A smile appeared on the young girl's face and her hands caressed the rough, old leather binding of the book. Her head popped up as she heard James' footsteps returning from the back room. She quickly grabbed the book and shoved it into her bag.

James smiled at her and asked, "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Sure." She replied cheerfully. She looked up at the man gradually. The signaling in her dark eyes told him that she would return soon to learn from him. He smiled as the kids walked away. This is just what he wanted; to corrupt his enemies' one and only, precious little girl with the thing they feared most… magic.


	8. The Picture

**-Three Days Later-**

"Damnit! Why won't this thing light?" Claire stood at the back of Mr. Gold's shop staring at the candle on the table.

Gold stood behind her. "Patience, dearie. Think about it carefully and focus."

Claire banged her head on the table and moaned stressfully, "I _am_ focused. Why do I even have to learn how to light a freaking candle anyway? I want to learn the good stuff."

Gold walked away from her and sat down in a chair across the room. "And what do you think you'll accomplish by rushing through these things, dearie. You said you wanted to learn."

Claire lifted her head to look at him. "I do!"

"Well this is part of it. Small steps. You must learn to control the power little by little, or it will overwhelm you. Now, focus and light the candle."

"I've tried."

"Then try again, dearie."

"But I can't." Claire tilted her head to the right in aggravation. Gold had remembered how her mother used to do the same thing when learning something difficult.

The man tapped his golden cane on the floor and answered, "Well we are not moving on until that candle is lit, dearie."

"Then get me a match…" She replied with an attitude.

He ignored the comment and said, "The power is _within_ you, dearie. All you have to do is want something enough, and then let yourself have it."

"You make it sound so simple." Claire looked at the man.

"It is that simple, dearie. Now try again."

The girl sighed and mumbled, "Fine." She placed her hands flat on either side of the candle and bent down. Her dark lips were inches away from the black wick of the candle. The girl closed her eyes once more and focused. She had power inside of her; she just needed to build it up and control it. She could feel a surge of something within her. Gold, who had been sitting back comfortably in his chair, suddenly sat up and watched the girl in amazement. A purple spark emanated between her fingers; he had never seen that done before. As the girl's eyes opened they were no longer the same dark shade of brown like her mothers, rather they glowed with that same purple static. She pursed her lips and gently blew towards the wick of the candle. He watched as a bit of smoke began to materialize. With a sudden flicker, the candle was burning with a bright orange-red flame.

Once lit, the girl blinked again. The static in her eyes and hands faded away. She blinked a few more times, almost falling out of a magical trance, and then stared down at the burning candle. "I did it!" She smiled proudly. Gold remembered that smile of achievement that Regina used to show when she finally accomplished a spell. Her daughter now had that same look, that same tone in her voice.

"Well done, dearie." The man stood slowly. "You are learning rather quickly. I'm impressed. It took your mother the better half of a month to learn that."

"I have a hard time believing you taught my mother magic, Mr. Gold." Claire placed her hand to her hip and leaned against the counter.

"Why is that, dearie?" He walked over the table to stand beside her.

Claire paused and thought for a moment. She answered, "Because she's just… my mom. She's probably the most normal person I know… granted I don't know a lot of people. Either way, she doesn't seem like the _magic_ and _power_ type of person."

"You'd be surprised, dearie."

"Why? Who was my mom here, Mr. Gold? Was she… a fairytale character too?"

"You mean no one has told you, dearie. When you took the book, I was sure you were aware of your mother's past."

"What past?" Claire asked. Her expression seemed confused and curious with her head tilted to the side and her hair flowing down her back.

The man answered her with a devious smirk. Getting the chance to break this to her was something he couldn't bear to pass up. "Claire, dear, Regina was the mayor of Storybrooke. Your mother was the Evil Queen."

0-0-0

Killian's eyes opened slowly from the harsh sunlight beating down on him. He turned over to see Regina still lying sound asleep. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her body. His breath was in rhythm with the faint sound of hers. He kissed her gently on the back of her neck; slightly arousing her from her sleep. She reached up and brushed her hand through his hair. Turning her head to look at him, she said with a still sleepily voice but with a smirk on her face, "Oh, it's you."

With a laugh, he leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "Why if I were you, I'd be careful what I say, love. I am a pirate after all." Killian replied in a flirtatious tone.

Regina opened her eyes from the kiss and giggled. They lied there silently looking into each other's eyes. Regina rolled to face him and kissed Killian passionately once more. He quickly wrapped his arms around her torso bringing her closer to him. There tongues had intertwined as they kissed. Killian began to move his sweet, gentle kiss down to her neck. Regina raised her head giving him more freedom to move about. "Oh god." She moaned quietly as he kissed her breast, arousing her suddenly. Killian enjoyed the sound of her heavy breathing and quiet moans. Moving his lips back to her neck he rolled her to her back. With him above her, he kissed her with more fire and definitely more eagerness. "Killian..." Regina moaned as she slid her harms around his neck. "We can't... wake up the boys." She said with a heavy breath.

"Don't worry about them." He said as he began to move his arms up her pastel pink silk pajama dress. Regina's eyes shut tightly at the touch of his hand to her skin. It made her feel so good.

"Stop. We have to stop, dear." She said, though in her mind, she didn't want it to end. Killian ignored her and continued to move up her body, exposing her smooth skin. His lips pressed against her naval as his hand moved from her waist, to her leg and slid up her thigh slowly. With great grace, he removed her undergarments. Regina didn't fight with him; the arousal throughout her body overcame her and she needed him.

Killian placed a kiss below her naval before whispering, "Just relax, love. Don't worry about the boys, don't worry about Claire, and don't worry about anything. Leave it all to me." Regina gasped as he dove under the sheets and began to perform oral pleasantries for her. She gripped her pillow around her head and tried not to scream and wake the boys as the feisty pirate's tongue performed magic. He listened to her sweet moans as his hand rubbed her, giving her chills throughout her body. As she felt the man kissing back up her abdomen, she pulled her gown off completely and in a whirl of passion. Her hand careered his strong and muscular shoulder and he suckled at her tender breast.

"Come here." She whispered sensually as he made his way back to her sweet, red lips. The couple rolled within the sheets, putting Regina on top for a moment. But Killian made them rolled all the way around so that he was back on top of her. "What are doing?" She whispered with a little giggle.

"I told you to leave it all to me, love." He replied before caressing her cheek and placing another kiss to her lips. His kisses moved down her neck as he gently entered her. Regina closed her eyes and allowed him to slowly thrust inside of her. As he slowly pulsated within, he looked into her deep, dark eyes and kissed her tender lips. "Happy birthday, love." He said with a smirk.

Regina laughed a she wrapped her arms around his neck. Foreheads pressed together, she sweetly kissed his nose and replied. "I love you."

0-0-0

Claire laughed in disbelief. "You can't be serious? Regina Mills? My mother? An evil queen?"

Mr. Gold smirked. "I'm quite serious, dearie. If you don't believe me, find out for yourself or even ask her."

"I really _don't_ believe you. My mother couldn't do any of that. Magic, curses, none of it." She replied with an attitude.

"Dearie, when she was a little older than you, she had the same thoughts as you do now. All she wanted was power and vengeance."

Claire leaned against the table. "But I don't want that. I just wanted to learn magic for the fun of it. For the-"

"Freedom?" He interrupted, knowing exactly what she was about to say. "Power will give you freedom, dearie. It made your mother Queen; she had freedom to rule however she wished. But, of course, it came with a price. Magic always comes with a price."

"And what was hers?" Claire asked, playing along, but not entirely believing him.

"For a time it was loneliness, sadness, and hatred. But her ultimate price, dearie? You."

"Me? So I'm a price of magic now? Seems a bit hard to believe."

The old man leaned over and blew out the melting candle. "And why is that? Think about it, dearie. There was a reason she left this town as she was in labor with you. Look at the power you possess after a mere three days. Her price was that _you_ would fall into the same pattern that she now regrets."

"But I won't. I'm nothing like my mother! And even _if_ all of that was true, I would never become like that!" Claire backed away from the table. She glanced at the candle, no longer impressed with what she had done but in fear of it. As she turned to walk out, her anger got the best of her. Several items flew to the floor uncontrollably as she left the room furiously and no longer in control of her magic.

0-0-0

Killian gazed over the sleeping beauty; her head rested gently on the pillow. He didn't wish to wake her. His lips lightly pecked her forehead, which made her stir for only a second. He then slinked out of the bed carefully and let her sleep.

With every step down the hallway, he became more awake. Quietly opening the door to the boys' room, he whispered, "Boys? You up?" The door opened all the way revealing the young boys sitting on their beds. Connor wore blue pajamas while Nathan wore green. Both with smirks on their faced, they hopped out of their beds as Killian said, "Come on. We have a mission this morning." The three made their way to the kitchen while Regina continued to sleep soundly.

In the kitchen, the boys stood side by side, straight up, as if they were soldiers. In a playful militaristic tone, Killian spoke, "Alright, men. We've got a job to do and no more that an hour to do it. Can I count on you sailors to accomplish this mission?"

The boys found this game enjoyable. Trying to play along and act seriously, though they couldn't help but smile, they replied in unison, "Yes Captain!"

"Good. Now Nathan, your mission is eggs. No shells whatsoever. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" He said with a grin before excitedly going to get the bowl and eggs.

"Connor, you are my stirrer. You get those ingredients and mix them well, my boy."

"You got it, sir!" Connor said as he turned to join his brother who was excitedly starting his part.

Killian watched as his son cracked an egg into the bowl and drop a few shells into it. He laughed as his boy looked up at him slightly frustrated because this hadn't been the first time he had done it. After throwing that away, Killian beckoned for the boy to give him an egg so that he could show him how to do it. With his good hand he cracked it nicely and let the insides falling into the bowl without a single stray shell. "Just like that." He said will a smile. He handed Nathan another one so that he could try it. He nervously did as his father had just done and then looked at him with accomplishment. Killian patted his son's back and then went to the cabinets for a pan.

After about 20 to 30 minutes of cracking, stirring, cooking and flipping. The three had a beautiful breakfast made out with pancakes, coffee and sweet apples. They walked down the hallway to wake Regina and serve her breakfast. The two boys barged through the door and jumped onto her bed.

"Mom, Mom, Mom! Wake up! We have a surprise!" Connor exclaimed.

"Yeah! Come on, Mom!" Nathan agreed.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Regina laughed at her twins jumped up and down on the bed. "Okay, okay! I'm up."

She smiled as Killian lowered the tray onto her lap. "Happy birthday, love." He says sweetly before placing a kiss to her lips.

Regina's eyes widened with delight as she looked at the tray of food in front of her. She looked to her excited boys. "Did you boys make this for me?" They both nodded. Regina held out her arms and beckoned for them to hug her. "Thank you so, so much." She said as she embraced one boy on each side of her and placing a kiss to their heads.

"And there are no egg shells." Nathan said with a grin. "Dad taught me how."

Regina laughed and looked up to Killian. He knew what her hopeful eyes were asking. But he was forced to shake his head no; their daughter hadn't returned for three days. Regina had hoped that maybe she would comeback in the middle of the night and one morning she'd open the girl's room to see her sound asleep. But for the passed three days, there was no luck. He watched as Regina tried to paint a smile on her face for their sons. He could see the sorrow in her eyes. Killian quickly gestured for the boys to go by making an excuse that they need to get her gift. They scurried off of the bed and out of the room just before Regina began to cry.

Killian sat beside her and held her in his arms. He listened to her whisper, "I just want my daughter back."

Killian tried to calm her by rubbing her arm gently. "Love, it's only been three days."

"And how much longer do you expect me to wait?" Her head shot up as her sorrow suddenly turned to slight anger. He stared at her bloodshot, teary eyes, unable to reply. She continued, "God only knows what she found out, what she's done, what people have done to her. You can't expect me to keep waiting days, weeks, _months_ for her to just decide to come back. She's our daughter, Killian."

"Then we'll find her." Killian said as her kiss Regina's forehead. "But for now, just enjoy your breakfast and your birthday with the boys. I'll worry about everything else."

0-0-0

With a single wave of her hand, the door to the Mayor's abandoned house flew off of its hinges. Claire's power escalated in her anger. She marched into the house and into the office. Ever since she spoke to Gold, she couldn't get it out of her head. She tried returning home, but she wanted answers, so she made a detour instead.

It was that picture that remained ingrained in her head. The one that she tried to focus on, but the image was too blurred for her to see. She needed it to be clear. She remembered there was a woman; she had dark hair and ruby-red lips. Claire remembered the young child with her in the picture. Who could that be? If and only if Gold was right and Regina had been the Evil Queen, she would have been the Mayor as well. Claire needed to know; she needed to know the truth.

Without hesitation, the girl grabbed the photo from the desk and looked at it. After a second, Claire gasped and dropped the frame allowing glass to shatter on the floor. She didn't want to believe it, but Mr. Gold had been right; her mother had lied to her for so many years about her own past. She looked down at the picture; it was clear now. With glass covering it, she looked at her mother's dark hair and ruby-red lips and her dark eyes as she hugged her son Henry.

Claire picked up the picture and accidently cut her hand on a piece of broken glass, but it was as if she didn't feel a thing. A little blood trickled off her hand and dripped to the floor. She didn't notice, didn't feel the pain of the cut. She just stared. Tears ran down her face as she realized it, what her mother had done in the past. She had read it in the fairytale book about how the Evil Queen had killed by ripping the hearts out of people's chests and crushing them to dust with nothing but a satisfied smile on her face. She finally knew her mother's past. She _was_ the Evil Queen.


	9. Welcome Back

"Let go of me, damnit!" Claire yelled, as she was being dragged into the Sheriff's station for the second time in the same week. The remnants of dried tears still lingered on her face. If she could have, she would have tossed David and Emma back and ran out of there as fast as possible, but they had her hands restrained. She kicked and struggled to get free, but they were stronger.

David shoved the girl roughly into the chair beside the desk and exclaimed, "Not going to happen! Twice! Twice now you have been caught breaking and entering that house and _now_ you've vandalized the place! How the hell did you manage to throw the door clean off of its hinges and then destroy that office?" He stood in front of her, pinning her hands to the chair so that she couldn't move them. He stared into her eyes sternly and held her wrists tightly.

Claire's eyes were dark, soulless. She glared at David as a vicious smirk appeared on her face. "You're the sheriff." Her voice suddenly deepened, "You figure it out." David backed away aggravated.

Emma listened to the girl's voice and looked at her strangely familiar appearance. She thought to herself: _That look, that voice, is so similar to… no, it couldn't be. She's been gone for… _"How old are you?" Emma asked.

The girl as well as David looked to her confused. Claire replied, "What's it to you?"

"Don't argue and just answer the question, kid." Emma responded agitated at her stubbornness.

"Fifteen."

Emma's eyes widened as she finally saw it. David stared in confusion. "Emma, what is it?"

She wasn't sure what opted her to lie to her father, but she shook her head and replied, "Nothing. It's nothing." Emma had put all of the pieces together: fifteen-year-old girl, dark hair, dark eyes, a badass stubborn attitude and an attraction to breaking into the old Mayor's abandoned house. They had found her crying and throwing things angrily in the office room before grabbing her. The door to the house had been thrown off of its hinges, clearly not by human force. She was Regina's kid, that same little baby that Emma had remembered years ago when Regina had first left Storybrooke for the child's protection. Now this girl was in town fifteen years later, without her parents, and had somehow possessed magic in the passed three days. Somehow, Emma thought, this girl was not in town for any good reasons and had certainly not told her parents about it.

She looked at the girl and asked, "We need to call your parents."

Claire paused, looked up into the blonde woman's blue eyes, and said plainly, "I have no parents." She returned her gaze to the floor, her expression more depressed than angry.

Emma pulled David aside to talk to him privately. "Emma, what are you doing?" She pulled him into the office and glared back at the teenage girl warning her not to go anywhere.

"Look. This kid is as stubborn as hell and is clearly troubled. I really don't think throwing her into a jail cell and yelling at her is going to do anything but maybe make it worse. At least, that's what I would have done at her age." Emma sadly remembered her past at that age: no family, no friends, just alone in the foster system trying to survive. Causing trouble like Claire had been doing was a normal pastime, but with magic, it could also do a lot more damage. Emma didn't want to risk making the girl angrier.

"Well then what do you suggest we do, Emma? She just said that she has no parents and no family. She probably has nowhere to go." David was still trying to put the puzzle pieces together in his mind.

"I think she's lying about it. Maybe she just doesn't want to be found." She looked back to check on the girl. "And if she has nowhere to go then why doesn't she come with us?"

David's eyes widened in shock. "Emma, are you kidding? We can't just take her home with us?"

"Why not? Maybe showing her some kindness, rather than constantly yelling at her, she'll open up and tell us something. Plus, she's friends with James. Maybe he could talk to her. What do we have to lose?" Emma waited for a response from David.

"What about the magic?" He asked.

"I have magic too. It doesn't harm anyone cause I know how to use it for good reasons. Maybe she just needs to learn that too. Just give her a chance. You gave me one once."

David pondered for a moment. He knew that Emma was right, she always was. After a while, he nodded his head. "Fine. We'll take her with us, but only until we can get a hold of her parents."

"You got it." Emma replied with a smile. In her mind, she thought: _Family reunion with Regina and Killian… this should be interesting._

0-0-0

Wind blew her hair back as she stood at the front of the ship staring at the town on the horizon. Her stomach churned with nerves; fifteen years had gone by since she had left Storybrooke with Killian. How would people react when they returned? A comforting hand slid around her waist. Killian kissed Regina's head lightly and looked out at the town.

Regina closed her eyes and smiled at the comfort of his touch. Her hand reached up and behind her to caress his cheek. She placed her other over the hand resting on her waist. "Shouldn't you be steering, dear?" She whispered with a giggle.

"I left the boys to do it for a moment. I wanted to see how your were." His cheek positioned beside her head, he glanced down at her with concerned eyes. He asked her, "Love, are you sure about this? We know what that town is like. Don't you think it might be dangerous to return there after all of these years?"

Regina stepped away and turned to face him. She replied sternly, "You know what is dangerous, Killian? Our daughter being there… alone. I'm tired of waiting up for her. I can't keep opening the door to her room, just hoping that she'll be there. I need to find her; I need to know that she's safe."

"And that she hasn't found anything out?" Killian returned the look.

"What are you talking about?"

He stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You've been trying to protect her from everything for years, Regina. From magic, from our pasts, from who we are."

"From who we _were_. We are not those people anymore, Killian. And I'm only trying to protect her."

His hand stroked her cheek and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Maybe we've been protecting her too much. Holding her too tightly. Shouldn't she know the truth?"

Regina looked into his eyes. "And what if she knows the truth and tries to get even farther away? I can't have her thinking what everyone else thought of me. I can't have my own daughter see me as the Evil Queen."

"It'll take time, love. But you're her mother nevertheless and she loves you. She will love you no matter what. Just as I do. Just as our sons do." Killian leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

As Regina finally began to calm in the midst of the kiss, she backed away and gasped at a sudden wave moving through her body. Killian watched as her eyes flashed a suddenly purple color and her fingers emitted a purple electrical current. It faded within a minute. Regina looked onto the horizon at the town and then nervously at Killian. "Looks like we are back in Storybrooke."

0-0-0

"Okay." The sweet dark-haired woman said as she knelt in front of Claire who was sitting in a kitchen chair. "This is going to sting a bit, so bear with me." She looked at the teenager with sweet and calming hazel-green eyes and a smile. She held Claire's throbbing hand and placed the alcohol wipe on the wound. Claire closed her eyes and sucked in air through her teeth; she tried not to flinch at the stinging pain. While cleaning the cut, the woman tried to make some discussion to calm the girl. "May I ask you something, Claire?"

Exhaling through the pain, she replied, "I guess so."

"You're not from Storybrooke. What made you want to leave your family to come here?" She continued to dab at the cut and wash off the dried blood on her hand. Claire stared at her stubbornly. She wanted to remain strong, but the woman was just being kind to her. It was one of the first times that she wasn't being scolded or reprimanded. The woman just wanted to calmly talk to her. Her sweet appearance and gentle voice made Claire trust her.

She replied, "I just wanted a change from my boring life. I had spent my entire life staring at this town on the horizon but my parents told me that I could never come here. I guess… I just needed to know what the outside world was like."

The woman laughed, "You wanted to know what the outside world was like and decided to come to Storybrooke? Sweetheart, this town is nothing like the outside world. And what about your parents? You didn't think that they would be worried?"

"They're not my parents anymore…" Claire said deeply as she glanced at the floor.

The woman smiled and nodded. "Ah. You had a fight with them."

"They lied to me." Claire sounded frustrated.

The woman put the alcohol wipe down and unwrapped a bandage. She looked at Claire and asked, "And did you ask them why they lied to you?"

"No." She bluntly answered.

"Well, maybe they just wanted to protect you." She began wrapping the girl's hand with the bandage.

"I don't care. They still lied." Claire's angry expression softened as she began to feel more saddened.

"Listen, I know it's tough for you understand now, but your parents love you and just want to protect you. Every parent does. Even though it upsets you, they had their reasons for lying to you. And I don't think making the rash decision to run away will fix that." She finished wrapping her hand. With a smile she said, "There! You're all set."

As she stood up, Claire asked her, "You're Snow White, aren't you?"

She turned around and laughed, "I'm assuming James told you." Claire nodded her head. "Well, yes, but I go by Mary Margaret. Why do you ask?"

Claire hesitated a bit. "Just curious. James told me the whole story, about the curse and the Evil Queen and stuff. Was she really that evil? And she killed people?"

Mary Margaret looked down. "She was a troubled woman and very angry. She made many bad choices, but, honestly, there was always good in her. We moved passed it."

"How can you forgive that? What she did to you?" Claire stared at the woman with curious and innocent eyes.

"Because even through everything she did, I still loved her and knew that she could change." She smiled at the teenager.

"Really?" Claire asked.

"Yes. You always love your family no matter what." Mary Margaret turned to throw away the bloodied wipes. She returned to the girl and said, "I'll be right back. Okay?"

Claire nodded as the kind woman put a hand on her shoulder the same way that her mother did. It made Claire ponder: _Could I do that? Forgive her? _More thoughts raced through the girl's head. She was still angry; Regina had lied to her for her entire life. Would she have ever told her the truth?

A sudden tingling surged through her body. Claire gasped as her eyes glowed and her fingers trembled with magic unexpectedly. As it faded away, Claire whispered to herself, "What the hell?" This random power surge made her nervous. Something was happening, something strange.

"Hey, Claire." James walked into the room just as the purple static disappeared. He could tell that she was a bit rattled. "You okay?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her shock and looked up at the boy. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She smiled.

"Okay." He threw his backpack on the kitchen table. "So, my dad told me about everything. There a reason that you went back?"

"I was just pissed." She replied hesitantly.

"At what?" He asked opening the door to the refrigerator. He glanced over. "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good. You seem pretty casual about this. I imagined you freaking out."

"I don't know. I guess I just expected it from you. And you didn't answer my question. What were you pissed at?" He grabbed a carton of juice and a glass from the cabinet.

A little insulted, she responded, "What's that supposed to mean? And I was just pissed."

"Pissed at nothing? Okay? And I mean, it's just your nature. Rebellious." He smiled and laughed.

"I was pissed at my parents, okay?"

"Why?" He asked leaning over the counter with a glass of juice in his hand.

"What are you? My therapist? What's with all the questions?" She glared at him.

Casually, he smiled, "No. I was just curious." He paused for a moment. "So… are you going to tell me?"

She smirked. "They lied to me about some pretty important things."

"So you vandalized a house? Weird way to deal with that…"

"I had my reasons." Claire gave him another glare.

"And what were they? What did your parents lie to you about?" He asked.

Claire got up and turned to leave the house. As she left, she said back to him, "My mother was the Evil Queen." James' jaw dropped as Claire walked out the front door.


	10. A Feeling and A Spark

**I apologize for not updating sooner. Juggling three stories isn't easy... gives me a headache. Please enjoy this update. Review and Follow! Love you readers! 3**

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Running swiftly to catch up with her, James yelled out, "Whoa, Claire!" He grabbed her arms and stopped her. Breathing heavily, he asked, "What the hell are you doing? You can't just drop a bomb on me like that and then leave!"

Claire looked at him with a blank expression and shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't leave. You managed to keep up and follow me."

"You know what I mean…" He said aggravated at what sounded like sarcasm. Claire stared at him for a moment before trying to walk away again. James held onto her wrist and pulled her back toward him. "Oh no you don't."

He tugged her harder than expected, forcing her to fall into him. She placed her hands to his chest to support herself while his hand awkwardly held her shoulders. They didn't push away to soon. For a moment, Claire could feel his heart pounding in his chest. As she looked into his blue eyes, she could feel his hot breath on her face; his chest felt so muscular for a sixteen-yea-old. She felt his hands squeeze her shoulders slightly, which made the young teenage girl feel chills down her spine. Their eyes locked for moments as they both awkwardly hesitated pushing away. With a blink of an eye, Claire finally snapped out of her daze and pushed James' chest.

She backed away from him and said softly, "Sorry."

He shook his head in reassurance, "No, its okay." He smiled at her. "It was my fault."

Claire backed another step and responded, "I have to go."

As she turned to walk away, James suddenly remembered why he had been going after her in the first place. "Wait, no!" He chased after her again. She stopped to let him catch up, this time she seemed more agitated. "Claire, you have to explain this thing to me."

She turned to him and said with an exasperated tone, "I don't need to tell you anything."

He looked at her honestly and responded, "Claire, I'm your friend. I'm only trying to help you. You can tell me." She stared stubbornly at him for a moment. "Come on." He slid his hand into hers. He was surprised when she didn't protest as he interlocked their fingers together and began leading her in the opposite direction. "I know somewhere we can talk." The two teenagers walked together.

0-0-0

Soon after docking the ship, Regina made no hesitation to get onto the docks. She took her sons' hands, one boy on each side of her, and swiftly walked from the docks. Chasing behind her, Killian yelled out, "Regina, hold on!"

He watched as she stopped in her tracks, flipped her short, dark hair back and looked to him with impatient eyes. "What?"

"Where are you headed?" He caught up to the rest of his family.

She gave him a glare. "Where do you think?" He voice deepened as she became more agitated to keep moving.

"You know where she is?" He asked with a confused expression on his face.

The twin boys stared up at their mother with the same look. Regina raised her brow. "If I know our daughter like I think I do… I know exactly where she might be. Or, at least, _who_ knows where she might be."

She watched as Killian suddenly became wearisome. "Must we? I truly hate that man… if he _is_ a man…"

Regina looked to him and questioned, "Do you want to find Claire or not, Killian."

"Of course I do." He gestured to his sons cheerfully, though Regina could hear the sarcasm in his voice. "Let's go, my boys. Your mother is leading the way. You'll get to meet your father's mortal enemy, but what the bloody hell, eh?" Regina rolled her eyes at the intolerable man and then turned to continue walking. Killian mumbled under his breath as he followed, "Damn crocodile… this should be an interesting reunion."

0-0-0

He brought her to his special place on the coast. It wasn't anything special; just an old swing set in the sand. The little playground was leveled above the beach so that the ocean horizon could be seen while one swung freely. Claire stared out onto the calm waters as James held her hand tightly. "What is this place?" She asked.

"Its my spot." He replied leading her to the swings. The two sat next to one another.

As James rocked side to side on his, Claire sat very still and just continued to stare almost as if she was in a trance. The sun was beginning to set slowly. It gleamed on the water and turned the sky different shades of pink and purple and orange. The girl was as calm and serene as the waves of the ocean.

James, as he rocked in his swing, couldn't help but stare at the girl as she stared away. He felt like he was still chasing her down the street; she was unaware of how he felt and why he kept running after her. Granted they came from different worlds. James had grown up learning that love was strength, and when he found it, when he found her, that he would just know it and feel it inside of him. Claire was sheltered more than anything. She knew what love for her family was, but true love she only read about in stories. She was truly blind to what could possibly be the real thing.

He pressed his cheek against the cold chains of the swing as he stared at her face in the sunlight. It shined on her perfectly; he thought she looked like a work of art as the wind coming from the high tide blew back her long dark hair. He watched her smile. For once it wasn't a conniving or devious smirk or a victoriously sarcastic expression; he could finally see her true smile.

Once she noticed in the silence that he had been looking at her, she turned to him and asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

James now watched the sunset on the horizon. "I like to come here to think. Sometimes I just talk to myself out loud and relax."

Claire giggled and replied sarcastically, "That doesn't make you sound nuts at all."

James laughed, "Well sometimes, when I don't have anyone to talk to, I just need to talk in general. Even if I am all alone." Claire didn't say it, but in her eyes and expression, he knew that she knew exactly what he meant. He glanced to her. "So, do you want to talk about… you know."

She sighed, "It's just complicated, James."

"I've got time." He smiled and reached for her hand. She let him take it gently in his grip.

As he caressed her fingers with her hand in his, he just listened to her talk. "She lied to me." She began to vent. "All of these years, I never knew this. I never knew about this world, this town, her past, my past! I had to have some stranger tell me the truth; the truth that she should have told me herself. I… I went back to the house… I remembered that picture…" Claire was staring randomly on the horizon, reliving that moment of pain and hurt. "there was something familiar about it. I barged into the office room and there it was. I picked it up and there _she_ was. She had lived here for years and years before I was born. She… had a dark past that she never told me about… she hurt people… killed them by… ripping their hearts out."

James could feel her shivering as she let her emotions free. With a blank stare on her face, he wasn't even sure if she remembered that he was there. The hand holding her hand clutched a little tighter. He said nothing and let her collect her thoughts. For a few moments, all was silent but the wind and the waves. James sighed, not taking his eyes off of her and not letting go of her hand. "Claire," was all he said to get her attention. She looked back to him with tearful eyes. She didn't know what to do; she was lost. As he stood up, Claire didn't move. "Come on." He beckoned.

Claire stood, and without hesitation, fell into his arms afraid and on the verge of crying her heart out. His strong arms embraced her fully as she rested her head and hands on his chest. He placed his chin upon her head and closed his eyes as he held her closely. "Claire, I'm right here." He whispered as she began to cry.

She picked her head up to look at him as he spoke to her. He looked down deeply into her brown eyes, more deeply than he had ever looked at her before. He could almost feel her pain as her heart beat in her chest. She could feel his increasing rapidly. His hands around her body, he hesitated. Would she push away again? But she didn't. He placed a hand to her cheek and wiped the tears from it. His hands felt warm and comforting to her. James, without any more hesitation, leaned in and pressed the girl's lips to his in the light of the sunset.

James didn't feel a push at his chest as he brushed his fingers through her hair with his lips still locked onto hers. Rather, he felt her kiss him back. Her hands slid up his chest and combed through his short blonde hair. In that blissful moment, the two teenagers felt at peace, like they were one. He could feel the spark of their lips, literally. The two separated at the sudden shock in their lips, yet their foreheads and noses never parted. Claire opened her eyes and stared into the blue that were only an inch away. They breathed heavily together. She watched as a smile appeared upon his face, but nothing showed upon hers. The girl came to her senses and suddenly pushed away once more. Saying nothing, she turned and ran away from him. This time, though, he didn't chase her.

0-0-0

"Gold!" Regina's voice echoed in the little pawnshop as the front bell rang. How was it that that place had not changed in fifteen years? Regina let the boys' hands slip from her own as they looked around at what they thought to be a cool shop.

Killian, with a nervous expression, protectively placed his arm around Regina's waist. Granted, he didn't think of the fact that she had had her magic back and was, more likely, able to protect them better than he could. The couple approached the counter as the old man came from the back. With a surprised look upon his face he said with delight, "Do my eyes deceive me or is it really her majesty, the Queen? And the scurvy pirate, Captain-"

"I just go by Jones, now-a-days, mate." He said glancing to check on their young sons.

"Ah, I see by the lack of a hook. I suppose that would be best for my sake." He smirked.

Killian glared at the man who believed he was far better than he. "Listen, mate. I can still freely kill you if I please. However, you are lucky that I prefer being a good father over my vengeance."

"Ah, yes." Gold glanced over to the twin boys. "About the same age as my boy."

"You have children?" Regina asked with a surprised expression.

"It may come as a shock to you, dearie, but you are not the only one who has changed through the years." Regina glared at him frustrated. "Now, how might I have the pleasure of serving you two today? Must be important for you to come all this way."

Regina continued to glare at the man. "Where is she?"

"That's a rather vague question, dearie. Might you elaborate?" Gold leaned against the counter.

Killian snuffed at the man. "Our daughter, Claire. We know that she's been here."

"And how could you possibly know that? I'm afraid I have not been acquainted with any _Claire_ here. My sincerest apologizes." He stared into the eyes of the couple.

Regina, becoming aggravated, responded, "I know she's been in here, Gold. I can't feel it. What have you been doing with her?"

"More importantly where is she?" Killian continued.

"As I stated before, dearies. There has been no Claire in this shop. Now I suggest you go before I am forced to make a scene in front of your young sons." He smirked gesturing to the boys who seemed still mesmerized from the artifacts in the shop.

"Don't you dare threaten me or my family, you bloody crocodile." Killian replied pointing his finger at him viciously.

Regina held him back by his chest, "It's not worth it, Killian. The boys will see."

"Yes, yes. Be on your way." Gold smiled as they backed away and walked towards the door.

Suddenly, the bell of the door rang, causing the entire group of people to look up. Shock appeared on Regina and Killian's faces. There she was right in front of them. They couldn't say anything at the moment. She was just as surprised as they.

With a suddenly choke of her words and bloodshot eyes from her tears, she spoke, "Mom? Dad?"


	11. A Strange Reunion

**Author's note: Hey all, I apologize that its been so long since I've posted, but not to fret. Here is the newest installment of All Magic Comes With a Price. Enjoy and please Review! I love hearing your commentary.**

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"Oh my god, Claire." Regina couldn't contain her joy in finally seeing her daughter again. She ran over to her with tears building in her eyes and hugged the teenager tightly. Regina felt like she never wanted to let go of her again.

"What… what are you doing here?" Claire stammered as Regina held her close. Claire's eyes remained puffy from the crying and her voice cracked only a little as she spoke.

Regina ignored the girl's question, suddenly held her daughter's shoulders and spoke in a reprimanding tone, "Why did you run off like that, young lady? You had me worried sick!"

"We were both worried, Claire." Killian chimed in.

"Because I wanted to!" Claire snapped back angrily. "You always told me that this place was dangerous, which was why I could never come. But you lied to me!" Claire glanced over at the old man behind the counter. His sudden smirk seemed to signal to her. She was free to do what she wished; it was her power and her freedom. She pushed her mother and father back forcefully with all her strength and all of her power. She was angry and it seemed to amplify her magic. She watched as both of her parents flew to ground and smashed into the counter. "You just wanted to protect yourselves. That's all you ever cared about." Claire glared viciously.

The twin boys stared at their sister in utter fear of what she had just done. Neither could utter a word nor move. When she turned her head slightly to look at them, they jump at the sight of her eyes. They were not her usual brown color, but rather were glowing purple as the magic began to consume her even more than it had once consumed her mother. Soon enough, Claire would have no control over her actions; she would be no longer human. She would be the entire destruction of Storybrooke as the magic inside of her began to overpower her will. Had Gold known this the entire time?

The girl quickly stormed out of the shop as Regina and Killian finally came to from being thrown back so harshly. Gold leaned over the counter and smirked, "I see the resemblance now."

In sudden rage by his infuriating enemy, Killian jumped to his feet, grabbed the older man's throat and pinned him to the wall. "What the bloody hell did you do to my daughter?"

Regina sat up and brought her attention to her terrified sons. She stood instantly and took them into her embrace. She could feel them shaking in fear from what they had just witnessed. Regina looked up and watched Killian choke Gold in anger.

"I don't know what you talking about." Gold replied breathlessly and with a playful smile.

Killian tightened his grip, no longer concerned about his sons watching but more concerned for his daughter's life. "I told you before that I have no problem killing you with my single bare hand, crocodile. So I suggest you stop playing games with me."

Struggling for breath, the man complied and nodded his head. Hook hesitated before letting him go. The old man put a hand to his chest as he felt the air returning to his lungs. He began to explain in between breaths, "Claire came to me days ago curious of her past and yours."

"And so you just told her everything?" Regina asked with aggravation.

"Well, if I didn't who would have, dearie? Because you were certainly doing a poor job of it yourself."

Killian glared at the man. "It was not your place. You are not her parent."

"The girl had a right to know where she came from and you were not going to tell her nor teacher her anything about it."

"We left to keep our children away from magic, Gold. It was for their own safety." Regina replied.

"Or for yours?"

"Don't pull that crap on me, Gold. _You_ are the one who told me, when I first got pregnant, that Claire's magic would have been far too powerful to even imagine." Regina shook her head at the man.

"Yes, and now she has returned to Storybrooke and is slowly regaining that power inside of her. So I suggest rather than confront me and my motives, dearies, you go find your daughter before she destroys the entire town."

"If she is only angered with us then what makes you think that she'll continue?" Killian asked.

The teacher glanced over at his second-generation student with a smirk. "Because she's _your_ daughter."

"Just get to the point!" Killian pushed the man back against the wall to gain his attention.

The man grunted as he hit the wall. "Your daughter's magic is increasing from inside of her and is slow taking over. She wont' be able to control it much longer and soon… Storybrooke will be destroyed. The girl is a self destruct device."

"You're lying." Killian shoved him against the wall angrily.

"You think I would lie about this. My life hangs in the balance just as much as anyone else's in this town."

"Why Claire? Why our daughter?" Killian asked distressed.

"The product of true love broke the curse… but the product of true evil will erase it completely."

Regina held her boys tightly and shut her eyes as she listened to this. Her own daughter was killing herself through her uncontrollable power. Soon all of Storybrooke would cease to exist, which meant that they would all be killed. All magic comes with a price, and this was hers. She cast the curse, she darkened her heart and she made the wrong choices in the past, but now she had to pay with her daughter's life. She couldn't wait any longer. Regina stood up and looked to Killian. "We need to find her."

Killian shoved the old man against the wall one last time, "Do you know where she is?"

The man replied with aggravation from being shoved once more, "James."

"Who the bloody hell is he?" Killian asked.

"He's Mary Margaret and David's boy. He had become friends with your girl. You want to find her, go to them."

"Then let's get this over with." Regina said the Killian with agitation. He had to struggle with his enemy, now it was her turn.

0-0-0

She could feel the power raging inside of her and becoming stronger as she ran down the streets of the town. She was furious, upset, angry, sad, scared and hurt all at once. She couldn't control the emotions surging through her. Soon that wouldn't be all she couldn't control. Claire tried to avoid eye contact with anyone she passed. She could still feel the static in her eyes and her fingertips from the recent event. They were not dying down as they usually did. She was becoming worried that something could be very very wrong.

"Claire." She heard a familiar voice shout out behind her. "I need to talk to you." His voice became louder as he approached her from behind.

Claire, however, wished not to see him. "James, please go away." She did not turn around. She did not want him to see her as she was. She did not want to get into a heated argument and hurt him. She did not want to get into any type of conversation with him.

"No, Claire. I need to talk to you about what happened at the beach." James stood directly behind her.

"It was nothing, James. Now please go." Claire refused turn around and look at him.

"It was something. Please, just let me explain." James placed his hand upon Claire's shoulder only to receive a shrug from her as she stepped further away from him.

"Don't touch me." She mumbled.

"Claire, please don't do that. I just need to talk to you. Just turn around and look at me." He placed his hand on her shoulder again and this time trying to pull her around to face him.

A sudden, uncontrollable force cause the teenage girl to turn, throw out her hands and toss the boy to the ground. "I said, don't touch me!" She yelled.

As he landed to the ground, he looked up at her and noticed her glowing eyes. This wasn't her; it couldn't be. She was breathing heavily as she glared down at him. James heard the sounds of another person yell, _What are you doing?_ Suddenly he noticed is sister Emma, running to his side and helping him off of the ground. "What the hell did you do that for?" She looked up at the girl and gasped at her abnormal appearance. "Oh my god." She mumbled under her breath.

The young girl's expression suddenly softened as she felt the power decreasing only slightly. She looked at her hands, questioning what she had just done. "I- I- That wasn't me. I didn't do that." She looked over to the boy on the ground and the older woman with panicked eyes.

"From what I saw, it sure looked like you did it." Emma said as she helped her brother stand.

"No, you have to believe me. I- I couldn't control it. It wasn't me." The girl beckoned. She looked down as the static in between her fingertips began to increase. "What is happening to me?" She whispered to herself in fear.

James looked up at the scared girl. He moved his attention to Emma and said, "Get Mom and Dad. I'm going to get her somewhere and see if I can help slow whatever this _is_ down."

"Dude, you don't even know what it is."

"Well I'm not going to just stand here and let it hurt her. Go get Mom and Dad. They probably know what this could be." Emma, still hesitant to leave her little brother with the girl who was emitting uncontrollable power and had just thrown him to the ground, backed away slowly before turning and running to their home to fetch their parent who perhaps had more knowledge of this matter than they did. James carefully approached Claire. "Come on. I need to get you somewhere safer than here."

0-0-0

"Wait she's… Regina and Hook's daughter?" Mary Margaret needed to ask again.

"Yes." Emma replied. "And there is something seriously wrong going on here. The magical kind."

David leaned over the counter and asked nervously, "And why is James with her?"

"I don't know. He wanted to be."

"He's had a thing for that girl ever since she arrived here." David said with a sigh.

"Well he's sixteen David, that not a bad thing." Mary Margaret said.

David raised his brow and contemplated out loud, "Now that we know who the parents are… I'm not so sure."

"David, it's been fifteen years. They aren't the same people they were before."

"How would we know? It's not we've seen them in those fifteen years either. And considering what Emma is describing with their kid… it doesn't sound like much has changed." David said in a concerned tone.

"David." Mary Margaret looked at him sternly. "Lets go. We have to help her nevertheless." She picked up her coat and headed for the door followed by her husband and her daughter. She opened the door to suddenly reveal Regina and Hook with their two young sons about to knock on the door. "Regina?" She asked in shock.

"We need your help." Regina said bluntly.

Mary Margaret nodded her head. "You need to find your daughter, Claire."

Regina nodded in reply. "We were told that you might know where she is."

Mary Margaret, Emma and David stepped back to let the family inside. Regina kept holding onto Connor and Nathan's hands as they walked in. Hook remained beside them. Mary Margaret looked to the two boys with a smile. It was strange seeing Regina in this element. Yes, she had seen her like this with Henry, but it seemed like now she was even better. It was refreshing to know that Regina had really changed.

David leaned back on the counter and said, "Claire is with our son James."

Hook's eyes widened at the thought of his fifteen-year-old with a teenaged boy. "And why is my daughter with your son?"

"Because my son is trying to help her. He'll keep her safe until we can get there."

"I'm her father; it is my job to keep her safe. Where are we headed, mate?"

"That's the problem. We don't know where he took her."

"Brilliant…" Hook mumbled.

"We're going to find them." Mary Margaret reassured the young girl's parents.

Regina looked to her with a worried expression. She brought her arms around her sons' shoulders and held them close. "I don't think you understand the urgency of this matter. We need to find them as soon as possible."

"And how do you plan on accomplishing that?" Emma asked smugly.

"I don't have a choice. Magic." Regina looked to her. Everyone glanced over with a fearful expression. Regina and magic was never a good mix and who knows what could happen now that she has refrained from using it for fifteen years. "It's the only way. I'm not losing my daughter."

Hook walked up to her and placed his hand upon her shoulder. "Are you sure about this, love?"

"More than sure. Killian, I'm not going to let her get hurt. I need to get my daughter back."

He kissed her forehead and nodded in agreement. "Then what will we need?"

"A map of Storybrooke and some sort of pendulum or crystal." Regina looked over to Mary Margaret who had already begun to pull out a map.

David laid it out on the table as Mary Margaret ran into the other room to grab some sort of crystal necklace that Regina could use. Regina glanced around at the map of the town she had created so long ago and now feared its ultimate destruction. Her heart raced as the thoughts ran through her head and Mary Margaret handed her the necklace. She didn't hesitate for a moment at she beckoned for a pin or sharp object in order to prick her finger. With her blood and the crystal, she could locate Claire's whereabouts.

With a quick little jab at her finger with a sewing needle, Regina let her blood drip upon the crystal of the silver necklace. She then dangled it over the map, focusing her energy on her one goal of finding her daughter. She could feel it inside of her, a bubbling force within her as the magic began to work again. The crystal began to stiffly move around on its own over the map as it searched for her daughter.

Regina stared at the spot where the necklace had focused upon. "I know where they are." She said as she dropped it onto the table and headed for the door.

"Where?" Mary Margaret asked as the rest of them followed.

"The clock tower." She replied as they all filed out of the door quickly.

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**I don't know. Perhaps not my best chapter, but I like creating knew ideas. Tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	12. The End and A New Beginning

She felt as if her body was weakening by the second. Her hands shook and her heart raced as she sat down in a chair inside of the Storybrooke clock tower. James watched as the strange color of her eyes faded slowly as she was calming down, but the static in between her fingers didn't stop. She grasped on the chair in which she sat and tightly closed her eyes. Her face looked like she was in pain, and there was nothing that he could do to help her.

James knelt beside her. He wanted to just take all of her pain away; he wanted to take it from her and bear with it himself; he wanted to see her real eyes again not engulfed by magic; and he wanted to just hold her hand without the fear of being tossed back by a powerful force. He watched as a tear rolled down her cheek as she clutched the chair tighter.

He could see that this was not just about the physical pain that she was feeling as this magic began to take control of her; it was emotional as well. The way that she had left her parents, sprawled out on the floor of Mr. Gold's shop and unconscious; the way her brothers looked at her with complete fear, as if she was not even their sister; and the way James had looked at her when she ran off after their kiss on the beach were why her tears were falling.

James listened to her gasp at a sudden feel of pain as she tried to fight what was inside of her. She didn't want to lose herself to this. She didn't want to hurt anyone else, but there was no way that they knew how to stop it. All she could do was try to fight it off as long as she could and with all of the strength that she had. However, she could only do that for so long.

James watched as her eyes shot open suddenly. Her eyes had returned to the deep, static purple that they had been before. He could see that she was becoming weaker and the power was overcoming her. "James, you have to get out of here." She said between heavy breaths.

He still could see a glimpse of her behind those eyes engulfed by the magic. "I'm not leaving you. I promised I'd keep you safe."

"You can't keep me safe! James, please! I can't control this much longer. I don't want to hurt anyone else." She cried.

"You're going to be okay. Emma went to get my parents. They'll know-"

"And if they don't? What if they don't get here in time? What if they don't know how to stop this?" She shut her eyes and clenched the chair tighter as she felt another surge of pain running through her body. "No, no, no!" She cried as the magic tried to burst out of her again. "Go!" She yelled at him as surge of power escaped from her, breaking the glass of the clock tower.

0-0-0

The group stopped in their tracks at the sight of the clock tower bursting loudly. Regina listened to Mary Margaret scream out her son's name and watched as David grabbed her arm and held her back. Regina looked up at the tower and fearfully as she noticed purple static slowly engulfing the building.

She turned to Killian and looked at him nervously. "I'm going up there alone."

"What? Regina, you can't. I am coming with you." He replied.

"No. You stay here with the boys. I will go up there, send the boy back down here and I _will_ save our daughter." Regina said determined yet unsure yet of how that might work.

"Regina, please don't do this alone."

"Killian, this is happening because of me. Our daughter is up there, alone and in pain, because of what _I_ did. And now _I_ have to fix it." She stepped closer to him and placed her hands on his chest lovingly. "I can do this," she whispered to him. With a quivering lip she looked up into her lover's deep blue eyes, combed her hands through his hair and kissed him passionately as if this moment was their last. A tear ran down her face as he held the back of her head and pulled her in tighter. He never wanted to let go of her, but knew that he needed to. She whispered, "I love you," before she backed away from him and looked down to her two boys. She pulled them closely to her and held them tightly to her chest. Looking them firmly in the eyes, she told them, "I'm going to get your sister back. I love you boys." She brought them close one last time before having to let them go. She nodded to the other family who stood worrying about their teenage boy up in the towers and assured them that she would get him to them safely.

Regina ran up to the tower with her heart pounding in her chest and her mind racing with thoughts. "Claire!" She yelled out as she spotted her teenaged daughter struggling in the chair of at the top of the tower. "James, get out of here. I can take care of this." The boy didn't hesitate, got up and ran out as the girl's mother told him.

"Mom." She heard her daughter cry out in agony. Regina ran to her, tried to hold her daughter's hand but jumped back at a sudden static shock. The young girl looked to her mother with so much fear in her eyes. "Mom, what is happening to me?"

"This is all my fault." Regina watched her daughter struggling in pain. "Casting the curse came with a price. I should have never done it. I did this." Regina wanted just to hold her little girl close to her and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but there was little hope for that when they felt the earth begin the shake as Claire moaned in pain and the magic became stronger.

"Mom, why did you lie to me?" Claire looked up at her mother wanting finally to know the truth.

"Claire, I just wanted to protect you."

"That's not it! I know there is another reason! Tell me!" She yelled violently, making the ground rumble again.

Regina stumbled a bit and then caught herself before replying. "You're right, that isn't all. I did want to protect myself. Claire, I didn't want you to grow up looking at me like I was the Evil Queen. I couldn't have you hate me. I just wanted us to be happy. I wanted you to see me as just your mother who loves you. So I didn't tell you about my past and I tried keeping you from Storybrooke."

"But, Mom, I wouldn't have hated you. Your lying to me was what made me angry."

"Claire, I'm sorry." Regina cried as Claire cringed again, causing the ground to shake even stronger then before. Regina could see that her daughter was weak and couldn't hold on much longer.

The young teenager cried to her mother. "Mom, I don't want to die. Please, don't let me die."

Regina looked into her daughter's eyes; tear streamed down both of their faces. Regina needed to do something. It may not work, but it was all she could do. Regina beckoned for Claire to stand up. Regina looked straight into her eyes and said, "Claire, take my hand."

"But, Mom, what if-"

"Listen to me. Take my hand and hold onto me as tightly as you can. Don't you dare let go of me. Do you understand?"

The young girl nodded and hesitantly looked down at her mother's hand. She took a deep breath and quickly grabbed it, creating a surge of immense power. Regina pulled her daughter into her tightly, holding her head to her chest and griping her hand as the purple magic created a formation around them. Claire shut her eyes and buried her head into her mother's chest as they both shook from the magic they were trying to control together.

Regina wasn't sure if this would be enough to stop it, but in that moment, she knew that she had accomplished what she had come to Storybrooke to do. She had found her daughter. Regina rested her cheek on Claire's head and hugged her tightly as the ground shook harder.

The mother and daughter felt the power increasing and trying to pry them apart. The young girl gripped her mother's hand tighter and whispered, "I love you, Mom."

Regina responded, "I love you too." Suddenly the power burst, sending the mother and daughter flying across the opposite ends of the tower beam and landing unconscious onto the ground.

Within moments, Killian ran into the clock tower to find Regina and Claire lying on the ground. He noticed Regina stirring as she awoke. Her ran to her and dropped to his knees beside her, hugging her tightly and then kissing her more passionately than he had ever done before with tears in his eyes. Regina smiled at him as their lips parted. However, her smile faded quickly as she noticed that her daughter had not yet woken up.

"Claire!" She scrambled to her feet and ran to her daughter's side. She slapped her face lightly, trying to wake her, but the girl didn't move. "Claire, sweetie, come on. Wake up, baby, wake up." More tears began to fall from the corners of the woman's eyes as she stared down at her daughter. Regina leaned over and buried her head into Killian's chest. He held her in his embrace as she sobbed and looked at the girl on the ground with tears falling down his face as well.

Killian took his little girl in his arms and carried her outside where he laid her body on the ground gently. What else could he do? As James watched the man set down Claire's limp body onto the ground, he felt his heart thumping out of his chest, tears form in his eyes and his throat closing, making him choke. He watched her mother bury her head in the man's chest and sob uncontrollably. Her brothers ran into their parents' embrace, crying at the loss of their sister. Tears ran down the sides of his own mother's face as she looked at the distressed family.

He was frozen, looking at the girl lying there. As a tear ran down his cheek, he approached her body slowly, collapsed to his knees, and stared down at her. He leaned over her body and caressed her soft cheek. His lips quivered at the sight of her like this and a couple of tears dripped from his face onto hers. The boy leaned forward and whispered, inches away from her face, "Goodbye, Claire," and then placed a kiss onto her lips for the last time.

He parted their lips and looked down at her, his hand still placed on her cheek. He closed his eyes and let more tears fall from his deep blue eyes. Suddenly, he heard a gasp and opened his eyes. "Claire!" He shouted out as he watched her brown eyes shoot open and listened to her take a breath. Regina, Killian and the entire group glanced over in amazement as they saw the girl awake.

James smiled with utter joy as Claire looked up at him and reached a hand out to touch his face. "You didn't leave me."

He laughed, tears still slowly falling down his face, "I told you I never would."

The girl giggled as she sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Regina's tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy as she watched the boy help her daughter stand. The girl ran into her family's embrace as David, Mary Margaret and Emma walked closer to the group. David placed his hands onto his son's shoulders and said, "That's my boy," with a smile.

Both families let go of their teens and let them rejoin together in their own reuniting embrace. Like his father had told him. When he found the one, he would know. True love's kiss would tell him. It would begin their story together. No one would ever believe that love was weakness. It would be strength, strength for now and strength for their future. It would be not only strength for them but also strength for their families. Rumple was wrong when he claimed that Claire had been the product of true evil; he was dead wrong. She was in fact a product of true love between her mother and father, as was James. And true love is the most powerful love of all.

* * *

**The End**

**Please review and tell me what you thought of the story. Who would have thought the Snow White and Prince Charming's son and the Evil Queen and Captain Hook's daughter would fall in love and start the whole fairytale cycle over again? :) Hope you enjoyed it!**


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